From the book
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, Volumes I–II
Joseph Joubert · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordOrganisation often concerns the bodily arrangement and disposition of organs, not the administration of a group.
- In JoubertThe early account treats bodily constitution as one source of happiness.
- In this editionThe translation alternates “organization,” “constitution,” and “bodily constitution” to keep the physical meaning available.
- A place to beginBodily constitution is a reported source of stable happiness.
- English renderings
- organization; constitution; bodily constitution; organized
Meaning
Organisation often concerns the bodily arrangement and disposition of organs, not the administration of a group. Organisé can likewise describe the relation of living parts.
Use in the book
The early account treats bodily constitution as one source of happiness. Later, aptitudes and powers belong to the instrument and are distinguished from what lies within responsibility. The brain passage makes causal reliance upon constitution conditional and cautions against inferring it from outward shape. Plastic forms, meanwhile, concern the balanced parts of organized bodies. These witnesses link structure and capacity without licensing a modern biological diagnosis of Joubert or his subjects.
Places to read
- I, p. 38, entry 3, ¶1Bodily constitution is a reported source of stable happiness.
- II, p. 677–678, entry 10, ¶1Constitution is distinguished from accountable choice.
- II, p. 680, entry 2, ¶1Operation provides better evidence than external bodily signs.
- I, p. 458, entry 1, ¶1Organized bodies possess internally balanced forms.
Translation in this edition
The translation alternates “organization,” “constitution,” and “bodily constitution” to keep the physical meaning available. This is a contextual family, not three different source terms.
Source note
Beaunier 1938, I, pp. 38, 458; II, pp. 677, 678, 680.