Voltaire, Calas and the Forensic Expert: Public Criticism and Scientific Experiment as Tools of Empowerment in Enlightenment France
Type
conference speech
Date Issued
2016
Author(s)
Abstract (De)
In the public memory of France, the «Affaire Calas» is to the eighteenth century, what the «Affaire Dreyfus» is to the nineteenth: a victory of public justice over judicial injustice, of secularism over fanaticism, of intellectual courage over institutional power. The roles attributed to Voltaire and Zola are very similar, too: both intervened as independent thinkers, used their intellectual fame to defend a member of a persecuted minority, risked their own safety by confronting official authorities, and eventually saw their efforts crowned with success. However, as soon as the Affaire Calas is analysed more closely, it starts to look remarkably different from the «Affaire Dreyfus». First, the original cause of the scandal, the death of Marc-Antoine Calas, is and will always be clouded in uncertainty; despite all attempts to corroborate a suicide, there are still elements indicative of murder. Secondly, when the scandal transcended the boundaries of Toulouse, it was soon framed in terms of «Parisian Enlightenment» versus «Provincial obscurantism», which facilitated the judicial resolution of the Affair by the Conseil du roi. Thirdly – and this will be the main subject of the presentation – Voltaire’s public criticism was accompanied from the outset by the publication of different expert opinions, of which the most remarkable was a study on forensic experiments presented by the eminent surgeon Antoine Louis at the Académie Royale de Chirurgie in 1763. The goal of the talk is to demonstrate that the resolution of the scandal was to considerable degree enabled by the combination of public criticism and scientific expertise, by the outcry of a famous man of letters and the enquiries of trusted specialists. It would thus be wrong to describe critics and experts historically as two opposing roles. Rather, they served complementary functions and could therefore help to resolve complicated cases together.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
None
Event Title
Schweizer Geschichtstage
Event Location
Lausanne
Event Date
09.06.2016
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
248735