View source for The System of Nature

{{Short description|1770 work by Paul-Henri Thiry}}
{{italic title}}
{{infobox book
| name              = The System of Nature
| image             = Système de la Nature.jpg
| caption           = Opening page of The System of Nature
| author            = [[Baron D'Holbach]]
| pub_date          = 1770
| country           = [[Kingdom of France|France]]
| language          = [[French language|French]]
| publisher         = [[Baron D'Holbach]]
}}
'''''The System of Nature or, the Laws of the Moral and Physical World''''' (French: '''{{Lang|fr|Système de la Nature ou Des Loix du Monde Physique et du Monde Moral}}''') is a 1770 work of [[philosophy]] by Paul-Henri Thiry, [[Baron d'Holbach]].

==Overview==
[[Image:Systemedelanature.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Opening page of ''The System of Nature''.]]
The work was originally published under the name of [[Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud]], a deceased member of the [[French Academy of Sciences]].  D'Holbach wrote and published this book &ndash; possibly with the assistance of [[Denis Diderot]]<ref>See Virgil V. Topazio, "Diderot's Supposed Contribution to D'Holbach's Works", in ''Publications of the Modern Language Association of America'', LXIX, 1, 1954, pp. 173-188.</ref>  but with the support of [[Jacques-André Naigeon]] &ndash; anonymously in 1770, describing the universe in terms of the principles of philosophical [[materialism]]: the mind is identified with the [[brain]], there is no "soul" without a living body, the world is governed by strict [[determinism|deterministic]] laws, [[free will]] is an illusion,<ref>''System of Nature'' Vol. 1, Chap XI  "Of the System of Man's free agency": "In despite the gratuitous ideas which man has formed to himself on his pretended free-agency; in defiance of the illusions of this suppose intimate sense, which, contrary to his experience, persuades him that he is master of his will, -- all his institutions are really founded upon necessity: on this, as on a variety of other occasions, practice throws aside speculation."</ref> there are no [[final causes]], and whatever happens takes place because it inexorably must.  The work explicitly [[atheism|denies the existence of God]], arguing that belief in a higher being is the product of fear, lack of understanding, and [[anthropomorphism]].

Though not a scientist himself, d'Holbach was scientifically literate and tried to develop his philosophy in accordance with the known facts of nature and the scientific knowledge of the day, citing the experiments of [[John Needham]] as proof that life could develop autonomously without the intervention of a [[deity]]. It makes a critical distinction between [[mythology]] as a more or less benign way of bringing law-ordered thought on society, nature and  their powers to [[hoi polloi|the masses]] and [[theology]]. Theology which, when it separates from mythology raises the power of nature above nature itself and thus alienates the two (i.e. "nature", all that actually exists, from its power, now personified in a being outside nature), is by contrast a pernicious force in human affairs without parallel.<ref>''System of Nature'', Ch. I. Essentially a condensed form of what is also stated by Robert Richardson's preface which he condenses from his translation of Ch. I.</ref> Its principles are summed up in a more popular form in d'Holbach's {{Lang|fr|Bon Sens, ou idées naturelles opposées aux idées surnaturelles}}.<ref name = "Openlibrary">[https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6668742M/Le_bon-sens_ou_Ide%CC%81es_naturelles_oppose%CC%81es_aux_ide%CC%81es_surnaturelles ''Open Library''] (pdf in French). Amsterdam, 1772</ref>

==Criticism==

The book was considered extremely radical in its day and the list of people writing refutations of the work was long. The [[Catholic]] theologian [[Nicolas-Sylvestre Bergier]] wrote a refutation titled ''[[Examen du matérialisme]]'' ("Materialism examined"). [[Voltaire]], too, seized his pen to refute the philosophy of the {{Lang|fr|Système}} in the article "Dieu" in his ''[[Dictionnaire philosophique]]'', while [[Frederick the Great]] also drew up an answer to it.<ref name = "Openlibrary"/> Commenting on the book, Frederick observed: {{Quotation|When one speaks in public he should consider the delicacy of superstitious ears; he should not shock anybody; he should wait till the time is sufficiently enlightened to let him think out loud.<ref name = "Will Durant 1965 711">{{cite book|title=The Story of Civilization Volume 9:The Age of Voltaire|author=Will Durant|publisher=Simon&Schuster|pages=711|year=1965}}</ref>}}

It is speculated that Frederick was motivated to write a criticism of the ''System of Nature'' because the book contained an attack not just on religion, but also on monarchy.<ref name = "Will Durant 1965 711"/>

==Appreciation and influence==
D'Holbach's friend [[Denis Diderot]] had enthusiastically endorsed the book:{{Quotation|What I like is a philosophy clear, definite, and frank, such as you have in the ''System of Nature''. The author is not an atheist on one page and a deist on another. His philosophy is all of one piece.<ref name="Will Durant 1965 700">{{cite book|title=The Story of Civilization Volume 9: The Age of Voltaire|author=Will Durant|publisher=Simon&Schuster|pages=700|year=1965}}</ref>}}

[[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] became an ardent atheist after reading ''The System of Nature'', and proceeded to translate the book into English.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Story of Civilization Volume 9:The Age of Voltaire|author=Will Durant|publisher=Simon&Schuster|pages=713|year=1965}}</ref> According to [[Will Durant]], the ''System of Nature'' contains the most comprehensive description of materialism and atheism in the entire history of philosophy.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Story of Civilization Volume 9: The Age of Voltaire|author=Will Durant|publisher=Simon&Schuster|pages=710|year=1965}}</ref>

In his student days, [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] had recoiled with revulsion at the contents in the book: "It appeared to us so grey, so Cimmerian, so corpse &ndash; like that we had difficulty in enduring its presence and shuddered before it as before a spectre"; in his old age he harbored similar views: "We belong to the laws of nature, even when we rebel against them."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Story of Civilization Volume 10: Rousseau and Revolution|author=Will Durant|publisher=Simon&Schuster|pages=618–9|year=1965}}</ref>

According to Voltaire, the book was very popular among the populace, including "scholars, the ignorant, and women".<ref name="Will Durant 1965 700" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ftarchives.net/holbach/system/0syscontents.htm  ''The System of Nature''--English translation]
* {{gutenberg| no=8909| name=The System of Nature, Volume 1}}
* {{gutenberg| no=8910| name=The System of Nature, Volume 2}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:System Of Nature, The}}
[[Category:1770 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Metaphysics books|System of Nature]]
[[Category:Books critical of religion]]
[[Category:Works published anonymously]]
[[Category:History of materialism]]
[[Category:Books with atheism-related themes]]
[[Category:Works by Baron d'Holbach]]