Greek Philosophy and Encyclopedic Knowledge

What does “encyclopedic knowledge” mean to us today? I believe that, as in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, what we mean by this term is a knowledge that strives to embrace in detail the greatest possible number of sciences and bodies of knowledge. As Sainte-Beuve said in 1850 regarding Mada...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diogenes (English ed.) 1997-06, Vol.45 (178), p.33-47
Main Authors: Hadot, Ilsetraut, Treves, Janine Alexandra, Gage, Jennifer Curtiss
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Beliefs, opinions and attitudes
Encyclopedias and dictionaries
History
Knowledge, Theory of
Philosophy, Ancient
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:What does “encyclopedic knowledge” mean to us today? I believe that, as in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, what we mean by this term is a knowledge that strives to embrace in detail the greatest possible number of sciences and bodies of knowledge. As Sainte-Beuve said in 1850 regarding Madame de Genlis: All these tastes, all these diverse talents, all these pleasurable arts, all these trades (for she didn't even omit the trades), made her a living Encyclopedia that prided itself upon being the rival and the antagonist of the other Encyclopedia.
ISSN:0392-1921
1467-7695
DOI:10.1177/039219219704517804