New Books Network Andrew Billing, "Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing" (Routledge, 2023)
Feb 4, 2026
Andrew Billing, Professor of French and Francophone Studies and author of Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing, maps how Rousseau, Diderot, La Mettrie, Quesnay, and Rétif use animal imagery and emerging zoology. Short takes cover Buffon’s influence, political zoology, anthropomorphism, organic and molecular metaphors, and animal-based models of economy, morality, and empire.
56:22
Project Origin Story
- Andrew Billing began the project from his doctoral work on Rousseau and Derrida's seminar on the beast and the sovereign.
- That combination led him to expand the study to four other 18th-century political authors and a broader project on political zoologies.
Defining Political Zoology
- Political zoology names how animal references shape political theory from Aristotle to the Enlightenment.
- Billing argues a distinctive 18th-century French form emerges via Buffon and the rise of empirical natural history.
Buffon's Empirical Turn
- Buffon's natural history reframed animal study as a way to understand humans empirically rather than merely anthropomorphically.
- Eighteenth-century writers used empirical animal knowledge to legitimate political arguments, not just metaphorical comparison.
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Intro
00:00 • 49sec
Origins of the Project
00:49 • 1min
Building the Corpus and Buffon’s Role
02:08 • 3min
Defining Political Zoology
05:26 • 3min
Anthropomorphism and Scientific Claims
08:12 • 4min
La Mettrie: The Machine and Politics
11:49 • 5min
Perfectibility and Moral Sentiments
17:16 • 4min
Quesnay and the Animal Economy
21:23 • 6min
Diderot: Animals, Morality, and Molecules
27:53 • 7min
Politics of Organs and Molecules
34:55 • 5min
Rousseau’s Ambiguous Animality
39:30 • 5min
Rétif’s Utopia and Liberal Empire
44:40 • 7min
Outro
51:24 • 1min
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Essay Physica sur l'economie animale
François Quesnay
Essay physique sur l'économie animale is a treatise by François Quesnay, a French economist and physician, exploring the concept of the animal economy.
It is an attempt to map the entirety of the animal economy and contributes to his attempts to map the economy of a nation.
The animal economy shapes his physiocratic approach to political economy.
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The beast and the sovereign
Jacques Derrida
The Beast and the Sovereign, Volume I is a collection of lectures given by Jacques Derrida at the University of Paris between 2001 and 2002.
In this series, Derrida examines the philosophical and political implications of the relationship between the human and the animal, and between sovereignty and animality.
The lectures explore the ways in which Western thought has traditionally defined the human in opposition to the animal, and how this opposition has been used to justify various forms of domination and violence.
Derrida also examines the concept of sovereignty, and how it is linked to the idea of the human as a rational and autonomous being.
#
Julio la Nouvelle-Éloise
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Julie, or the New Heloise is an epistolary novel by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, published in 1761.
The novel tells the story of a love affair between Julie d'Étange, a young woman of noble birth, and Saint-Preux, her tutor, who is of common birth.
Their love is opposed by Julie's father, who has promised her to a wealthy nobleman.
The novel explores themes of love, class, virtue, and society.
It was one of the best-selling books of the 18th century and had a significant impact on the development of romanticism.
#
Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in 18th Century Liberal Political Writing
Political Zoologies of the French Enlightenment
Andrew Billing
Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing shows how our tendency to read French Enlightenment political writing from a narrow disciplinary perspective has obscured the hybrid character of political philosophy, rhetoric, and natural science in the period.
As Michèle Duchet and others have shown, French Enlightenment thinkers developed a philosophical anthropology to support new political norms and models.
This book explores how five important eighteenth-century French political authors—Rousseau, Diderot, La Mettrie, Quesnay, and Rétif de La Bretonne—also constructed a "political zoology" in their philosophical and literary writings informed by animal references drawn from Enlightenment natural history, science, and physiology.
Drawing on theoretical work by Derrida, Latour, de Fontenay, and others, it shows how these five authors signed on to the old rhetorical tradition of animal comparisons in political philosophy, which they renewed via the findings and speculations of contemporary science.
Engaging with recent scholarship on Enlightenment political thought, it also explores the links between their political zoologies and their family resemblance as "liberal" political thinkers.
#
Elements de physiologie
Denis Diderot
Éléments de physiologie is a work by French philosopher Denis Diderot.
The book explores Diderot's materialist and mechanistic views of the human body and mind.
Diderot examines the functions of the various organs and systems of the body, and he argues that all human thought and behavior can be explained in terms of physical processes.
The book was not published during Diderot's lifetime, and it was not widely read until the 20th century.
#
La Découverte Australe par un homme volant ou le dédale français
Nicolas Edme Restif de la Bretonne
La Découverte Australe par un homme volant, ou le Dédale Français (The Discovery of the Southern Continent by a Flying Man, or the French Daedalus) is a utopian novel by Nicolas-Edme Restif de la Bretonne, published in 1781.
The novel tells the story of Victorin, a young man who invents a pair of mechanical wings and flies to the Southern Continent, where he discovers a utopian society.
Restif presents a vision of a society based on reason, equality, and natural law.
The novel is also notable for its depiction of a number of unusual and fantastical creatures.
#
La Machine
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
L'Homme Machine (Man a Machine) is a philosophical work by Julien Offray de La Mettrie.
In this book, La Mettrie argues that human beings are essentially complex machines, and that there is no fundamental difference between the human mind and the human body.
La Mettrie rejects the dualistic view of human nature, which holds that the mind and body are separate entities.
Instead, he argues that the mind is simply a product of the body, and that all human thoughts and actions can be explained in terms of physical processes.
The book was highly controversial when it was first published, and it was condemned by many religious and philosophical authorities.
#125
• Mentioned in 142 episodes
Confessions
Augustine
Written in Latin between AD 397 and 400, 'Confessions' is a blend of autobiography, philosophy, theology, and critical exegesis of the Christian Bible.
The first nine books are autobiographical, tracing Augustine's life from his birth to his conversion to Catholicism.
He recounts his sinful youth, his involvement with Manicheism and Neoplatonism, and his eventual conversion in a Milanese garden.
The last four books focus on philosophical and theological issues, including memory, time, eternity, and the interpretation of the Book of Genesis.
The work is structured as a series of prayers to God, reflecting Augustine's journey of redemption and his understanding of God's grace and providence.
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Discours sur l'origine de l'inégalité
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Dans le 'Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes', Jean-Jacques Rousseau examine l'évolution de l'homme de l'état de nature à la société civile, mettant en lumière les inégalités croissantes.
Rousseau postule que l'homme à l'état de nature est libre, égal et guidé par l'instinct de conservation et la pitié.
L'introduction de la propriété privée marque le début de l'inégalité et de la compétition.
La société, avec ses lois et ses institutions, consolide ces inégalités et aliène l'homme de sa nature originelle.
Rousseau appelle à une réforme sociale pour réduire les inégalités et promouvoir une société plus juste et égalitaire.
#58256
Histoire Naturelle
Pline L'Ancien
L'Histoire naturelle de Pline l'Ancien est une encyclopédie monumentale du monde naturel, couvrant une vaste gamme de sujets, des animaux et des plantes aux minéraux et aux phénomènes célestes.
Rédigée au 1er siècle après J.-C.
, elle témoigne des connaissances scientifiques de l'époque romaine.
L'ouvrage est divisé en 37 livres et présente une compilation d'informations tirées de nombreuses sources, souvent sans distinction critique entre les faits et les légendes.
Malgré ses imperfections, l'Histoire naturelle reste une source précieuse pour comprendre la vision du monde antique et les connaissances scientifiques de l'époque.
Son influence a perduré pendant des siècles, contribuant à la transmission du savoir scientifique.
Animal Rhetoric and Natural Science in Eighteenth-century Liberal Political Writing: Political Zoologies of the French Enlightenment (Routledge, 2024) shows how our tendency to read French Enlightenment political writing from a narrow disciplinary perspective has obscured the hybrid character of political philosophy, rhetoric, and natural science in the period. As Michèle Duchet and others have shown, French Enlightenment thinkers developed a philosophical anthropology to support new political norms and models. This book explores how five important eighteenth-century French political authors—Rousseau, Diderot, La Mettrie, Quesnay, and Rétif de La Bretonne—also constructed a "political zoology" in their philosophical and literary writings informed by animal references drawn from Enlightenment natural history, science, and physiology. Drawing on theoretical work by Derrida, Latour, de Fontenay, and others, it shows how these five authors signed on to the old rhetorical tradition of animal comparisons in political philosophy, which they renewed via the findings and speculations of contemporary science. Engaging with recent scholarship on Enlightenment political thought, it also explores the links between their political zoologies and their family resemblance as "liberal" political thinkers.
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