Benoît de Baere
20
ence, aesthetics and anthropology. I will, of course, examine their specific characteristics, but I will also identify the “links” that bind them
to each other. In conclusion, I will attempt to show that these three
approaches are not entirely compatible, at least as far as the Histoire
naturelle is concerned. Indeed, despite the fact that Buffon conceived
of his work as an integrated whole, as a complete philosophical entity
combining a logic, physics, metaphysics and ethics of its own,
1 his
treatment of natural catastrophe allows us to assess the degree to
which Buffon’s thought at times follows paths so divergent that the
overall coherence of the Histoire naturelle appears compromised.
Natural Catastrophe as Conceived in Buffon’s Scientific Thought:
from the Théorie de la Terre to the Époques de la nature
We ought to begin by stating that Buffon is very well informed on the
subject of natural disasters. In fact, the reader quickly gathers the impression that he had at his disposal a veritable inventory in which innumerable natural events were catalogued in terms of their date, place,
consequences and casualties. The Histoire naturelle contains whole
pages of lists which seem to have been drawn up on the basis of just
such a catalogue. For the most part, these earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions are presented in a neutral, detached tone; references to death
tolls are not systematized. This is mainly because Buffon is interested
first and foremost in the consequences of these phenomena for a “theory of the Earth”, that is, for understanding the formation of the geophysical relief of the world around us. Thus he suggests repeatedly
that the number and scale of these cataclysms offer a possible explanation for the uneven nature of the globe’s surface. Does this surface
not present us with “l’image […] d’un amas de débris”, “d’un monde
en ruine”?
Commençons […] par nous représenter ce que l’expérience de tous les tems & ce
que nos propres observations nous apprennent au sujet de la terre. Ce globe
immense nous offre à la surface, des hauteurs, des profondeurs, des plaines, des
mers, des marais, des fleuves, des cavernes, des gouffres, des volcans, & à la
première inspection nous ne découvrons en tout cela aucune régularité, aucun
ordre. Si nous pénétrons dans son intérieur, nous y trouvons des métaux, des
minéraux, des pierres, des bitumes, des sables, des terres, des eaux & des
___________________________
1 See also Thierry Hoquet, Buffon: histoire naturelle et philosophie (Paris: Champion,
2004), pp. 38, 40.
20
ence, aesthetics and anthropology. I will, of course, examine their specific characteristics, but I will also identify the “links” that bind them
to each other. In conclusion, I will attempt to show that these three
approaches are not entirely compatible, at least as far as the Histoire
naturelle is concerned. Indeed, despite the fact that Buffon conceived
of his work as an integrated whole, as a complete philosophical entity
combining a logic, physics, metaphysics and ethics of its own,
1 his
treatment of natural catastrophe allows us to assess the degree to
which Buffon’s thought at times follows paths so divergent that the
overall coherence of the Histoire naturelle appears compromised.
Natural Catastrophe as Conceived in Buffon’s Scientific Thought:
from the Théorie de la Terre to the Époques de la nature
We ought to begin by stating that Buffon is very well informed on the
subject of natural disasters. In fact, the reader quickly gathers the impression that he had at his disposal a veritable inventory in which innumerable natural events were catalogued in terms of their date, place,
consequences and casualties. The Histoire naturelle contains whole
pages of lists which seem to have been drawn up on the basis of just
such a catalogue. For the most part, these earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions are presented in a neutral, detached tone; references to death
tolls are not systematized. This is mainly because Buffon is interested
first and foremost in the consequences of these phenomena for a “theory of the Earth”, that is, for understanding the formation of the geophysical relief of the world around us. Thus he suggests repeatedly
that the number and scale of these cataclysms offer a possible explanation for the uneven nature of the globe’s surface. Does this surface
not present us with “l’image […] d’un amas de débris”, “d’un monde
en ruine”?
Commençons […] par nous représenter ce que l’expérience de tous les tems & ce
que nos propres observations nous apprennent au sujet de la terre. Ce globe
immense nous offre à la surface, des hauteurs, des profondeurs, des plaines, des
mers, des marais, des fleuves, des cavernes, des gouffres, des volcans, & à la
première inspection nous ne découvrons en tout cela aucune régularité, aucun
ordre. Si nous pénétrons dans son intérieur, nous y trouvons des métaux, des
minéraux, des pierres, des bitumes, des sables, des terres, des eaux & des
___________________________
1 See also Thierry Hoquet, Buffon: histoire naturelle et philosophie (Paris: Champion,
2004), pp. 38, 40.