Publication of Le Système de la Nature (1770)

In 1770, Baron d'Holbach published his materialist work Le Système de la Nature in two volumes under the pseudonym Mirabaud. The anonymously attributed text presented radical atheistic ideas that provoked strong contemporary reactions.

Episodes

Background and detail

Publication Details. The work was published in 1770 in two French volumes. It appeared under the pseudonym of Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud, a deceased secretary of the Académie. The full title is Système de la nature ou des loix du monde physique & du monde moral.

Authorship Attribution. Although published under a pseudonym, the work is attributed to Baron d'Holbach. Some contemporaries initially believed Diderot was the actual author. The work itself has been called the culmination of French materialism and atheism.

Content and Reception. The text is explicitly atheistic and materialistic. Its radical ideas disturbed many contemporaries, including churchmen and philosophes, prompting a strong reaction. It is considered a core text of d'Holbach's philosophical output.

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Sources

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