This article examines the conceptual transformation of catastrophe in eighteenth-century France, as the term shifted from its theatrical meaning to the designation of natural and collective disasters. Rather than interpreting this shift as a simple semantic extension, it argues that the theatrical model endowed the modern concept of catastrophe with a specific narrative structure and an irreversible temporality. Through an analysis of the Encyclopédie, Montesquieu’s Lettres persanes, and the philosophical debates surrounding the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the article shows how catastrophe functions as an optical device that renders otherwise imperceptible processes of destruction and their temporal structures visible. Particular attention is then devoted to Rousseau, Louis-Sébastien Mercier, and Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger, whose reflections reveal the political implications of this conceptual framework. By making visible the historical processes through which past events shape the present and determine future possibilities, catastrophe becomes not merely an object of representation but an instrument of critical understanding and political intervention. Anticipating catastrophe can thus become a means of holding it back, delaying its occurrence, or mitigating its destructive effects.
Vedere il tempo della catastrofe: anticipare e trattenere la distruzione nella Francia del XVIII secolo
Matteo Marcheschi
2026-01-01
Abstract
This article examines the conceptual transformation of catastrophe in eighteenth-century France, as the term shifted from its theatrical meaning to the designation of natural and collective disasters. Rather than interpreting this shift as a simple semantic extension, it argues that the theatrical model endowed the modern concept of catastrophe with a specific narrative structure and an irreversible temporality. Through an analysis of the Encyclopédie, Montesquieu’s Lettres persanes, and the philosophical debates surrounding the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the article shows how catastrophe functions as an optical device that renders otherwise imperceptible processes of destruction and their temporal structures visible. Particular attention is then devoted to Rousseau, Louis-Sébastien Mercier, and Nicolas-Antoine Boulanger, whose reflections reveal the political implications of this conceptual framework. By making visible the historical processes through which past events shape the present and determine future possibilities, catastrophe becomes not merely an object of representation but an instrument of critical understanding and political intervention. Anticipating catastrophe can thus become a means of holding it back, delaying its occurrence, or mitigating its destructive effects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
