Shame and guilt : Diderotś moral rhetoric

Abstract

The subject of this dissertation is the implicit and explicit morality of Denis Diderot's fiction, his novels and stories, with regard to two moral traditions, defined as shame morality and guilt morality. The social framework of the French Enlightenment was the Republic of Letters, which emphasized the importance of habits and public opinion, and favored shame morality over guilt morality. Guilt morality is primarily concerned with individual conscience, and shame morality with social esteem. The 'philosophes' of the Enlightenment were most often critical towards religion. Moral sentiments, such as guilt and remorse, were seen as relics of Christianity. As the liberation of the individual is an important aspect of Diderot's fiction and characterology, the problem of guilt, which in Diderot's case can be called enlightened guilt, becomes an implicit and essential part of his moral rhetoric. This 'rhetoric of distance' frequently resorts to irony and challenges the reader to independently judge the ambiguities presented, according to his/her moral values and identity, or conscience.