diderot Flashcards
(28 cards)
when did Bougainvilles journey take place abd how long did he stay in Tahiti?
1766-9
he stayed for 10 days
what is the book that supplement based on called?
voyage au tour du monde
What text could be a precursor to some themes explored in supplement?
Des Cannibales- Montaigne, who described cannibalistic Brazilian rituals as having equivalent rituals in Christian societies in Europe
this can linked to the idea that ‘New world’ people were not necessarily inferior to those in Europe
how were the people of the so called New World seen by 18th European century travellers ?
- less shackled by religion
- more ‘morally’ free
- happier
- less constrained by the highly technological/ industrial world
what does Supplement warn against?
- the total condamnation of an unknown culture
- the unreserved praise of an alien culture
What does our response to culture different tell us?
- tells us more about the limits of our own perspectives rather than about the cultures we observe
- we should reflect critically on our OWN culture before we attack another
what is the subtitle?
Dialouges entre A et B sur l’inconvenient d’attacher des idees morales a certaines actions physiques qui n’en comportment pas
(dialouge between A and B on the inconvience of attaching moral ideas to physical actions that dont match)
what is in conflict for Diderot?
religion and sexuality, as religion subjects the free expression of natural impulses to duty and rigid rules
what does Orou think of religion/ property?
- sees it as repressive as couples are forced to remain faithful once desire is spent
- this places an artifical chain on the natural flux of physical desire
impact of dialouge on A and B’s opinion
- dialogue abolishes any EXPLICT trace of authorial comment/ power
- creates a space where ideas can be discusses freely
- incites debate
fictional vs real characters in supplement?
- the text bridges the gap between ficitonal and real dimentions, the fictional characters/ their comments and ideas are no less important than the real
what does the dialouge between A and B demonstrate?
- serves as a figure of metaphorical dialouge that the text performs between two cultural milieus, Tahiti and Europe
- dialouge suggest taht interaction should be two sided, questions and answers RATHER than observation
Imcomprehension in the text
- A cannot understand how Bougainville went from a sedantary life as a mathematician to an active life of travelling
- This introduces the theme of incomprehensibility
- this incomprehensibility exposes the limits of perspective, OFTEN shaped by prejudices/ preconceptions
- A’s confusion lies in the fact that he sees travelling as beign purelphysical, rather than mental
what does the issue of translation mean?
- we are often alerted to the impossibility of translation
- these gaps prevent us from gaining TOTAL mastery over another culture
- this means that we develop a critical attotude about our information/ observationx
what does the structure of a supplement in a supplement do?
it pushes us to create our own suppliment
what textual evidence is that our persective is meditated through a european persepctive?
- rhetoric of the both the old man and Orou which are full of european idiomatic structures, phrases etc.
- this has the effect of preventing the reader from passively accepting the old man’s/ orou’s speech as being a factual documentation
effect of cultural distancing
causes the reader to reflect upon their own culture through the lense of an alien culture
what is the impact of placing les adieux du vieillard at the beginning of the text?
- inverts the temporal sequence of the text
- inverts the meaning of Bougainville’s ‘discovery’ of Tahiti
- creates a sense of reciprocity as contrast the opinions of A and B (european) with the vieillard (tahitian)
what levels of meaning can you observe within les adieux du vieillard? (4)
- europeans are neither greater nor lesser than tahitains therefore they are all humans
- how can you assert yourself over someone to whom you are equal.
- If all humans are equal then your right to declare Tahiti yours
- you see the absurdity of the latter, so you must see the former as being equally injust and absruv
style of the speech of le vieillard?
his logical argument and use of syllogism appeal to the enlightenment philosophy whereby reason, almost above all, was valued.
Reason (especially in the enlightenment) was seen as being able to transcend cultural barriers and apply to all humans
what does the old mans speech do for the tahitians
it establishes them as a thinking subject, rather than as a passive object
Having said that, this is through the imagination of Diderot, having not ever gone to Tahiti himself
How is Tahitian sexual morality stricter than some (europeans) initally view it as?
- Tahitian’s dont have a model of free love, as non procreative sex is forbidden
- It is enforced through a veil system, where the colour shows you are off limits
- sex for procreation is important as children are a form of wealth for the Tahitians (this hence dispells the idea of there being NO property in Tahiti)
what is the veil system in Tahiti
-prepubescent girls: white
-menstruating women; grey
- post menopausal women: black
Boys until their early 20s wear a long tunic and chain
what happens if someone who is not allowed to have sex has it
- if women have sex (whilst menstruating/ sterile) they are kept as slaves on as distant part of the island
- if children/ teenagers have sex before they are allowed, their parents are reprimanded
