The original "figurative system of human knowledge" tree, in French.

The "figurative system of human knowledge", sometimes known as the tree of Diderot and d'Alembert, was a tree developed to represent the structure of knowledge itself, produced for the Encyclopédie by Jean le Rond d'Alembert and Denis Diderot.

The tree was a taxonomy of human knowledge, inspired by Francis Bacon's The Advancement of Learning. The three main branches of knowledge in the tree are: "Memory"/History, "Reason"/Philosophy, and "Imagination"/Poetry.

Notable is the fact that theology is ordered under 'Philosophy'. The historian Robert Darnton has argued that this categorization of religion as being subject to human reason, and not a source of knowledge in and of itself (revelation), was a significant factor in the controversy surrounding the work.^[1] Additionally notice that 'Knowledge of God' is only a few nodes away from 'Divination' and 'Black Magic'.

The original version, in French, can be seen in the graphic on the right. An image of the diagram with English translations superimposed over the French text is available. Another example of English translation of the tree is available in literature (see the reference by Schwab). Below is a version of it rendered in English as a bulleted outline.

[edit] The Tree of Diderot and d'Alembert

"Detailed System of Human Knowledge" from the Encyclopédie.

• Understanding
  • Memory
    • History
      • Sacred
        • Ecclesiastical, proper
        • History of Prophecies
      • Civil
        • Civil History, proper
          • Memoirs
          • Antiquities
          • Complete History
        • Literary History
      • Natural
        • Uniformity of Nature
          • Celestial History
            • of Meteors
            • of the Earth and the Sea
          • History
            • of Minerals
            • of Vegetables
            • of Animals
            • of the Elements
        • Irregularities of Nature
          • Celestial Wonders
          • Unusual Meteors
          • Wonders of the Earth and the Sea
          • Monstrous Minerals
          • Monstrous Vegetables
          • Monstrous Animals
          • Wonders of the Elements
        • Uses of Nature
          • Arts, Crafts, Manufactures
            • Working and Uses of Gold and Silver
              • Minter
              • Goldbeater
              • Gold Threader
              • Gold Roller
              • Gold and Silver Smith
              • Planisher
              • Setter, etc.
            • Working and Uses of Precious and Semiprecious Stones
              • Lapidary
              • Diamond Cutter
              • Jeweler
            • Working and Uses of Iron
              • Heavy Forging
              • Locksmithing
              • Edge-Tool Making
              • Arms Manufacture
              • Arquebus (small arms) Manufacture
            • Working and Uses of Glass
              • Glassmaking
              • Plate-Glass
              • Mirror-Worker
              • Optical Manufacturer
              • Glazier, etc.
            • Working and Uses of Skin
              • Tanner
              • Chamois Leather Dresser
              • Skinner
              • Glover, etc.
            • Working and Uses of Stone, Plaster, Slate, etc.
              • Practical Architecture
              • Practical Sculpture
              • Mason
              • Roofer, etc.
            • Working and Uses of Silk
              • Extraction
              • Throwing
              • Products, such as
              • Velvet
              • Brocaded Frabics, etc.
            • Working and Uses of Wool
              • Drapery
              • Hosiery,
              • etc.
            • Working and Uses, etc.
              • etc.
  • Reason
    • Philosophy
      • General Metaphysics, or Ontology, or Science of Being in General, of Possibility, of Existence, of Duration, etc.
      • Knowledge of God
        • Natural Theology
        • Revealed Theology
        • Knowledge of Good and Evil Spirits
          • Divination
          • Black Magic
      • Knowledge of the Soul
        • Rational
        • Sensory
      • Pneumatology, or Knowledge of the Spirit, or Special Metaphysics
      • Knowledge of Man
        • Logic
          • Art of Thinking
            • Perception
              • Knowledge of Ideas
            • Judgment
              • Knowledge of Propositions
            • Reasoning
              • Induction
            • Method
              • Proof
                • Analysis
                • Synthesis
          • Art of Retaining
            • Memory
              • Natural
              • Artificial
                • Prenotion
                • Emblem
            • Supplement to Memory
              • Writing
                • Alphabet
                  • Arts of Writing, Printing, Reading, Deciphering
                    • Orthography
                • Numbers
              • Printing
          • Art of Communication
            • Knowledge of Oratorical Devices
              • Grammar
                • Signs
                  • Gesture
                    • Pantomime
                    • Declamation
                  • Characters
                    • Ideograms
                    • Hieroglyphs
                    • Heraldry or Blazonry
                • Prosody
                • Composition
                • Syntax
                • Philology
                • Criticism
                • Pedagogy
                  • Choice of Studies
                  • Manner of Teaching
            • Knowledge of Oratorical Qualities
              • Rhetoric
              • Mechanics of Poetry or Versification
        • Ethics
          • General
            • Knowledge of Good and Evil in General, of Duties in General, of Virtue, of the Necessity of Being Virtuous
          • Particular
            • Knowledge of Laws or Jurisprudence
              • Natural
                • Civil Architecture*
              • Economic
                • Naval Architecture
                • Home and Foreign Trade,
                • by Land, by Sea
              • Political
                • Military Art*
                  • Tactics
                  • Fortifications or Military Architecture
                  • Military Pyrotechnics
      • Knowledge of Nature
        • Metaphysics of Bodies, or General Physics of Extension, Impenetrability, Movement, the Void, etc.
        • Mathematics
          • Pure
            • Arithmetic
              • Numerical
              • Algebra
                • Elementary
                • Infinitesimal
                  • Differential
                  • Integral
            • Geometry
              • Elementary
                • Military Architecture and Tactics
              • Transcendental
                • Theory of Curves
          • Applied
            • Mechanics
              • Statics
                • Statics, proper
                • Hydrostatics
              • Dynamics
                • Dynamics, proper
                • Ballistics
                • Hydrodynamics
                  • Hydraulics
                  • Navigation, Naval Architecture
            • Geometric Astronomy
              • Cosmography
                • Uranography
                • Geography
                • Hydrography
              • Chronology
              • Gnomonics
            • Optics
              • Optics, proper
              • Dioptrics, Perspective
              • Catoptrics
            • Acoustics
            • Pneumatics
            • Art of Conjecturing, Analysis of Chance
          • Physico-Mathematics
        • Physics (Natural philosophy)
          • General
          • Particular
            • Physical Astronomy, Astrology
              • Juridical Astrology
              • Physical Astrology
            • Meteorology
            • Cosmology
              • Uranology
              • Aerology
              • Geology
              • Hydrology
            • Botany
              • Agriculture
              • Gardening
            • Mineralogy
            • Zoology
              • Anatomy
                • Simple
                • Comparative
              • Physiology
              • Medicine
                • Hygiene
                  • Hygiene, proper
                  • Cosmetics (Orthopedics)
                  • Athletics (Gymnastics)
                • Pathology
                • Semiotics
                • Therapeutics
                  • Diet
                  • Surgery
                  • Pharmacy
              • Veterinary
              • Horsemanship
              • Hunting
              • Fishing
              • Falconry
            • Chemistry
              • Chemistry, proper
                • Pyrotechnics, Dyeing, etc.
              • Metallurgy
              • Alchemy
              • Natural Magic
  • Imagination
    • Poetry
      • Profane
        • Narrative
          • Epic Poem
          • Madrigal
          • Epigram
          • Novel, etc.
        • Music
          • Theoretical
          • Practical
          • Instrumental
          • Vocal
        • Painting
        • Sculpture
        • Engraving
        • Dramatic
          • Tragedy
          • Comedy
          • Opera
          • Pastoral, etc.
        • Parabolic
          • Allegory
      • Sacred

*These divisions can also be referred to the branch of mathematics which deals with their principles.

[edit] See also

• Instauratio magna
• Propædia

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Robert Darnton, "Philosophers Trim the Tree of Knowledge: The Epistemological Strategy of the Encyclopedie," The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1984), 191-213.

[edit] References

• Robert Darnton, "Epistemological angst: From encyclopedism to advertising," in Tore Frängsmyr, ed., The structure of knowledge: classifications of science and learning since the Renaissance (Berkeley, CA: Office for the History of Science and Technology, University of California, Berkeley, 2001).
• Adams, David (2006) 'The Système figuré des Connaissances humaines and the structure of Knowledge in the Encyclopédie', in Ordering the World, ed. Diana Donald and Frank O'Gorman, London: Macmillan, p.190-215.
• Preliminary discourse to the Encyclopedia of Diderot, Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, translated by Richard N. Schwab, 1995. ISBN 0-226-13476-8

[edit] External links

• ESSAI D'UNE DISTRIBUTION GÉNÉALOGIQUE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS PRINCIPAUX, published as a fold-out frontspiece in volume 1 of Pierre Mouchon, Table analytique et raisonnée des matieres contenues dans les XXXIII volumes in-folio du Dictionnaire des sciences, des arts et des métiers, et dans son supplément, Paris, Panckoucke 1780.
• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:System-der-kenntnisse-des-menschen.jpg