The Significance of Diderot's Essai sur le mA©rite et la vertu

Provides commentary on Diderot's translation of Shaftesbury's An Inquiry Concerning Virtue or Merit. By comparing the translation and notes, Walters demonstrates the evolution of Diderot's thought and artistic skill. Walters discusses the difference between theism and deism, the question of universal order, and compares atheism with free thought.