VENATURE SCETTICHE NEL SECOLO DEI LUMI. DIDEROT E IL MATERIALISMO

The article aims to highlight some aspects of philosophical scepticism in the age of Enlightenment. Far from being a “danger”, scepticism is instead a constant presence in the thought of the philosophers of the century, albeit with many internal differences that suggest a more careful definition of “scepticism”. Sceptical method and enlightenment reason are not at odds with each other, but rather collaborate fruitfully. In particular, the presence of sceptical procedures in Denis Diderot’s philosophy is analysed. The demands of “moderate” scepticism turn out to be of great importance even in a materialist philosopher such as the editor of the Encyclopédie. His tendency to reject any “systematic” closure of philosophy finds important aids of style and method in some of the distances typical of scepticism.