El pesimismo histórico en la filosofía de Denis Diderot

specialists commonly ascribe to diderot a pessimistic conception of history. while the mature work of the editor of the encyclopédie conveys an obscure image of the future, resulting, inter alia, from his encounter with catherine ii and from galiani's influence, such pessimism never appears to exhaust his reflections on history. his work prior to his trip to russia reveals another perception of history wich, nevertheless, is clearly distinct from the marquis of condorcet′s candid speculations about the future.