Diderot has been admired as a novelist, philosopher, and encyclopedist, but he is less well known as a writer of short fiction. This volume presents his five remarkable philosophical tales including "This Is Not a Story," "On the Inconsistency of Public Opinion Regarding Our Private Action," and "Supplement to Bougainville's Voyage," as well as "The Two Friends From Bourbonne" and "Conversation of a Father with His Children: or the Danger of Setting Oneself Above the Law," both of which are here translated into English for the first time.