Performed at the Comédie-Française at the beginning of May 1760, Charles Palissot’s comedy Les Philosophes (The Philosophers) was a brutal attack on Rousseau, Diderot and the Encyclopaedists. The play led to an intense literary and philosophical feud lasting several months. Diderot was deeply hurt by it and took revenge in Le Neveu de Rameau (Rameau’s Nephew, 1762-1773).

Les Philosophes de bois (The Wooden philosophers) is a puppet parody of Palissot’s Les Philosophes. This play also takes sides against the philosophers. The most controversial moment of Palissot’s comedy was a scene in which a fake philosopher was trying to return to the state of nature celebrated by Rousseau: he walked onto the stage on all fours, brandishing a lettuce and claiming it was the only food he ate. In Les Philosophes de bois, Madame Gigogne becomes a philosopher and comes onto the stage on all fours too. By alluding to Diderot’s plays Le Fils naturel (The Natural Son) and Le Père de famille (The Father of the family), she expands on the jokes made in Palissot’s comedy.

On the cover of the printed text, Louis Poinsinet de Sivry introduces himself as a “member of several troupes and the director of the Comédiens Artificiels de Passy (Artificial Comedians of Passy). He presumably staged his parody in his own house, for a small audience; indeed, it is unlikely that a theatre of this kind would have operated for long. Poinsinet de Sivry probably published his parody under an alias—Cadet de Beaupré—because he was Palissot’s brother-in-law.

Monsieur Sapin (Mister Fir Tree) and Monsieur Fagot (Mister Bundle of Sticks) pretend to be philosophers. They convince Polichinelle to do so too. After quarrelling with her husband Polichinelle, Dame Gigogne also decides to become a philosopher. Outside his shop, Polichinelle puts a sign claiming that he is a philosopher. Arlequin and Gille, who want to take revenge on philosophers, assault Polichinelle, but he defeats them. Monsieur Sapin and Polichinelle see Dame Gigogne walk on all fours before giving birth to many children. All the characters sing a vaudeville together and the children dance at the very end of the play.