Here is a manuscript by Fourier devoted to the retranscription of the most remarkable passages he found in a book written by Louis Dutens, a somewhat famous author in the XVIIIth century. His aim was to demonstrate, by quoting texts, that modern scientists and philosophers had not invented anything that the elders did not know. This sharp and somewhat exaggerated attack againt Progress and the Enlightenment could only delight the denigrator of "perfectible civilisation".

René Schérer, né en 1922, est professeur émérite en philosophie à l’université Paris-8. Dernier ouvrage paru : Petit alphabet impertinent, Paris, Hermann, 2014.