Solitude and philosophy. Diderot’s critique of Rousseau in the "Essai sur les règnes de Claude et de Néron, et sur les moeurs et les écrits de Sénèque"

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate, contrary to what experts generally consider, that the criticism that Diderot has directed at Rousseau in the Essai sur les règnes de Claude et de Néron goes beyond the biographical level, and it is deeply rooted in central structures of Diderot’s philosophy. This, on the other hand, sheds light on the place Seneca occupies in the book and on the criticism that Diderot had made to the Roman philosopher in 1745