Rameau´s Nephew as an Essay-Form

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article, I analyse Diderot’s enigmatic dialogue, Rameau’s Nephew through a different ‘adornian’ lens. Against the canonical Hegelian reading of this dialogue as a symptom of the decadence of critical thinking in enlightenment philosophy, and the Frankfurt School emphasis on the systematic character of Enlightenment thought, I argue that the paradoxical and sometimes pessimistic nature of Rameau’s Nephew contains also some elements for an Enlightenment cure through its aesthetic form. By analysing the philosophical value of the pantomimes and musical performances by the character Rameau, I hope to unveil an aspect of the materialist aesthetics Diderot developed to oppose systematic thinking and the reification of thought at work in the Enlightenment movement of which he was a part.