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© DR
© Georgios Kollidas - Fotolia
committees dedicated to great scientists
Lavoisier Committee
The Académie des Sciences holds the vast majority of the archives of the founder of modern chemistry,
entrusted by his heirs who had in mind the publication of the Œuvres de Lavoisier. Since Volume 7 of
Lavoisier’s correspondence (Correspondance) was published in 2012, the eponymous committee has been
in charge of creating general tables for the Œuvres and Correspondance and preparing several hundred
letters more (Volume 8) that are being dated, transcribed and annotated.
D’Alembert Committee
The d’Alembert Group, a multidisciplinary group of researchers, was created in the 1990s. Endorsed by the Académie des Sciences,
which had expressed its wish to see it created, it has first been supported by the French Mathematical Society and CNRS, then
integrated as the D’Alembert Committee of the Académie des Sciences, by decision of the 15 January 2013. It is chaired by
Académie Member Jean-Pierre Kahane.
The scope of its missions is to lead the publication
(CNRS Éditions)
and circulation of the complete
work of Jean Le Rond d’Alembert (1717-1783), in five book series, each focused on one of the
scientist’s activities:
• Series I:
Traités et mémoires de mathématiques
[Mathematical Treaties and Memoirs], 11 volumes
planned (3 already published);
• Series II:
L’Encyclopédie
[The Encyclopaedia]. D’Alembert’s contribution to the Encyclopaedia
amounts to a dozen of printed volumes. A digital critical edition of the whole of the Encyclopaedia
is in progress, within the ENCCRE project; on completion, it shall replace the current printed
Series II Edition;
• Series III:
Opuscules mathématiques
[Mathematical Opuscules], 11 volumes planned (2 volumes
already published);
• Series IV:
Écrits philosophiques, historiques et littéraires
[Philosophical, historical and literary
written work], 10 volumes planned (1 already published);
• Series V:
Correspondance générale
[General Correspondence], 11 volumes planned (1 already
published, the Analytical Inventory).
diderot and d’alembert at the time of the internet
in line with the
Humanités numériques [Digital Humanities]
movement, the enccRe project (édition numérique collaborative et critique de
l’encyclopédie de Diderot et d’Alembert [critical and collaborative digital edition of the Diderot and d’Alembert’s encyclopaedia]) stems
from a simple observation: there is no critical edition of the
Encyclopédie
. the project thus pursues two objectives:
to grant universal access for the first time to the materiality of such work, allowing for the simultaneous consultation of the original
work and its transcription, as well as for perusing the references that the 7,400 articles make to each other and confronting the articles
and plates;
to highlight how closely the original content of the work and the past or present critical studies connect. this edition shall provide
innovating annotation tools, casting some light on the complexity of the 2,000 plates of the book. it shall be open and adapted for use
by any kind of reader (the well-read, students, researchers...).