The System of Nature

" O NATURE! Sovereign of all beings! And you, her adored daughters—Virtue, Reason, Truth—be forever our sole Divinities! To you belong the incense and homage of the earth. Show us, O Nature!" The System of Nature (Le Système de la nature, 1770), although primarily attributed to Baron d’Holbach, is thought to have been at least in part a product of Diderot, and he absolutely authored its final chapter, which summarizes the entire work. The System was originally published under the pseudonym Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud, and is a foundational work of Enlightenment materialist philosophy. Written in collaboration with Denis Diderot, the text presents a deterministic, atheistic worldview grounded in natural laws. An 1822 edition of this text claimed to include notes drawn from a copy that belonged to Diderot, though it ultimately offered little new material; nonetheless, its preface bears the mark of someone well acquainted with Holbach’s circle. Some passages even suggest Meister’s involvement, despite his opposition to Holbach’s ideas. The Système became a cornerstone of Enlightenment radicalism, emphasizing reason, empirical inquiry, and moral autonomy in place of religious doctrine. This modern edition contains a new Epilogue by the translator, a glossary of Philosophical Terms used by Diderot, a chronology of his core life and works, and a summary index of all of Diderot's works. With a clean, modern translation of Diderot's Enlightenment-era French, this edition brings Diderot's thoughts directly into the modern intellectual sphere, tracing the intellectual forces which swept along Diderot and impacted today's secular world. This Enlightenment work, laying the foundation of the French Revolution, denies the existence of a soul independent of the body, dismisses free will as an illusion, and rejects final causes or divine purpose in nature. Instead, it deifies nature as God. It is a rationalistic Pantheism- creating a Deterministic Theology rooted in belief in the absolute Omnipotence of Newtonian Mechanics, resulting in the worship of nautre. Across two volumes, it critiques religious belief as a product of fear and ignorance, portraying theology as an obstacle to natural morality—defined as the respect for liberty, property, and security. The work provoked significant controversy upon publication, leading to its condemnation and public burning by French authorities. Despite this, it inspired both fierce opposition and philosophical engagement, including critiques by Bergier and Voltaire. The final chapter, Abrégé du Code de la Nature, often attributed to Diderot, encapsulates the book’s radical ethical vision. Baron d'Holbach (1723–1789) was a Franco-German philosopher, writer, and encyclopedist who played a key role in the French Enlightenment. Born in Edesheim, he spent most of his life in Paris, where he hosted an influential salon. He contributed to spreading Protestant and especially German scientific thought, but became best known for his outspoken atheism and his extensive critiques of religion, particularly through his major works The System of Nature (1770) and The Universal Morality (1776). Baron Paul-Henri Thiry d’Holbach’s The System of Nature (1770) presents one of the Enlightenment’s most thorough and provocative articulations of materialist philosophy. In this ambitious work, d’Holbach aims to dismantle the metaphysical and theological systems that, in his view, have long obstructed rational inquiry and human flourishing. He proposes in their place a naturalistic ontology grounded in empirical experience and the mechanistic laws of nature.
ASIN: B0F678KDWL
VSKU: GBV.B0F678KDWL.VG
Condition: Very Good
Author/Artist:Diderot, Denis|d’Holbach, Baron|Brouillard, Ariane
Binding: Paperback
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Crisp copy with a sturdy binding and light shelf wear.