History of the Origins of World Philosophy, French Enlightenment No. 8: Holbach

French Enlightenment No. 8: Holbach

　　Holbach was one of the most important contributors to the French Encyclopédie school and did not change diderot's staunchest supporters, and even when the Encyclopedia was in internal and external difficulties, friends and relatives were separated, and the situation was at its most sinister. Although his specific views were not consistent with Diderot's, they were the most familiar friends and comrades-in-arms in supporting and maintaining the Encyclopedia.

　　Holbach was also the most determined and sharp atheist among the French Enlightenment thinkers, and one of the most famous representatives of the French materialist thinkers of the 18th century. He had a more systematic and extreme understanding of atheism and English empiricism than Diderot, Lametli, Voltaire, Aerdis and Condiac. Readers who understand the French materialist tradition must know that Condiac was primarily a disseminator of English empiricism and sensationism; Thatrel was primarily the heir to Cartesian physical thought; Thater, though adhering to the principles of English empiricist philosophy at every turn, was the focus of his thought not on empiricism but on ethics; and only Holbach, whose main energies were concentrated on naturalism, was bound to draw atheistic conclusions because of his adherence to naturalism, and necessarily thought comprehensively about naturalism because of his adherence to atheism.

Holbach's naturalism was the most thoroughly materialist expression of English empiricism in France and the highest level of French atheism of his time. Despite his way of expression, there is still a tendency to simplify, realistic, and unbranchronized theory. With his philosophical characteristics of atheism and naturalism, he was no closer to Locke, and even farther away from Berkeley and Hume.

　　Holbach, formerly known as Paul. Henrich. Tidelrich, born in Germany, moved to France with his father at the age of 12. Although he was a "foreigner", he was not unaccompanied in France: first, his uncle was rich in France; second, one of his cousins had settled in France and had several daughters with a French gentleman, and her two daughters later became Holbach's wives. Holbach's education as a teenager was accomplished under the care of his uncle, who later inherited his uncle's title. As a result, some French books often refer to him as Baron Holbach.

　　Holbach was knowledgeable and had a wide range of interests. He was not only familiar with the works of classical writers of ancient Greece and Rome, but also had a special interest and understanding of the works of many modern philosophers. He was proficient in English and had a great affection for the English empiricist philosophers, and was most deeply influenced by them.

　　He differed from Elvis in that his doctrines were largely focused on the humanities, and he also had considerable knowledge and study of the natural sciences. During his lifetime, he translated a variety of natural science works, including mineralogy, metallurgical chemistry, physics, natural history, pyrite, sulfur theory, and so on.

　　He also wrote many of the Encyclopaedia's articles on the natural sciences. His philosophy was actually the crystallization of English empiricism, French Enlightenment ideas, and European natural science, but he did not make much effort on the so-called philosophical system, but went a different way, only in nature and atheism. And it's getting done.

　　Holbach lived a wealthy life and had no financial resources – this is probably a common feature of French Enlightenment thinkers. Even Rousseau, who claimed to be poor, always had the help of the nobles and rich. The French Enlightenment philosophers, intended to be humanistic, criticized religion, and their life performance was economic prosperity and marriage. This is also in stark contrast to the great philosophers of modern Times in the West: those who are single and many are late married, but they all have a property, and everyone has a married life.

　　Holbach's family environment is very privileged, and his residence was once known as the café of Europe. This "café" can be described as "full of friends, like a cloud of friends". Among the frequent guests, including Diderot, Jouel, Blange, Duclos, Mamudale and Saint-Lambert, in addition to these well-known French cultural figures, there are often some famous foreigners, among which the Chinese readers are particularly familiar with the British philosopher Hume and Franklin, who was later known as the father of the United States. Such a group of characters gathered together, it can be said that three lifetimes are fortunate, and the opportunity is difficult to come again. The French elite of these cafes, also known as the "Holbach Group". Their basic consensus is that they are mostly atheists. Holbach is the host of the café and seems to be a representative of them. He certainly attracted and inspired them, and he received so much inspiration and help from them that some of his most famous chapters, such as The System of Nature, are suspected that individual chapters of which Were written by Diderot. Empty words are unfounded and unsubstantiated, but his theories clearly absorb many of the useful ideas of his guests and friends.

　　Holbach was an upright and charitable man, but with a strong aristocratic smell – he was not really aristocratic. Although he also advocated equality, he somewhat looked down on the poor. It was at this point that Rousseau was greatly dissatisfied. By the very nature of his ideas, he was by no means a traditional figure, but the most radical of the French encyclopedic school. But his radicalism, unlike Rousseau's, was extreme in every aspect of life. His radicalism manifested itself mainly in his atheism, in the arguments and arguments of his writings. For this reason, although he could be said to be an impeccable and cultured gentleman in terms of his personal character, many scholars of the time, including some of the most famous scholars, expressed difficulty in understanding his writings, such as the great Goethe, who was very dissatisfied with his works. He never hid his views, although most of his writings were published anonymously; his inner world should be said to be the most open and honest without any city government, nor did he despise any sleekness or smallness. It is said that during Hume's reign in France, he sat with him and 16 other colleagues to discuss atheism. Hume sat down beside him and said, "Atheist! I don't believe there is any one that I've never met. So Holbach replied, "Then you are so unfortunate that there are 17 of you here." "

Holbach wrote a great deal of works during his lifetime, including Pocket Theology, The System of Nature, The Theory of Natural Politics, The Plague of The Sacredness, Social System, and Moral Politics.

　　Holbach's philosophical thought was most influential in his atheism, and the most systematic was his view of nature. His view of nature is the basis of his atheism, which are like the two wings of a bird, which cannot be separated or lacking.

　　Holbach's system of nature consists of 4 basic ideas:

First of all, he explains the world from the world itself, arguing that "the universe, this sum of all that exists, is everywhere offered to us only matter and motion", and nature is "the infinite lock of the causal series", and nature is nature, which has nothing to do with the gods and Gods. All changes in nature are nothing more than a causal cycle in the material world. This idea is the fundamental foundation of Holbach's atheism.

　　Second, he believed that man was a product of nature. Although this statement is almost arbitrary, it sounds like a landslide to theologians. He said, "Man is a product of nature. Man did not always exist, much less was created by God, but changed from other species. Therefore man is also the seed of all things, and there is no soul that is independent of nature, and man should never enjoy any privilege in nature. Although his theory is insufficiently empirical, in a sense, it can be said to be a "scream" before Darwinian evolution.

Again, he considers the idea of man to be merely an image of an object, saying, "In the living man, the first ability we see—from which all other faculties arise—is sensation." He disagreed with Berkeley's philosophical views, much less with the idea of talent by Descartes and others. His ideas are almost Rock's, but the way he expresses them, especially righteous and stern, is cut to the point.

　　In the end, he considers the rational opinion to be "the queen who dominates the people." In this respect, he maintained with Aier that man was a product of the environment. Their logic is that since man is a product of the environment, the rational social environment becomes a particularly important cause of civilization. But the reasonable environment needs to be guided by equally reasonable great men and heroes, so his so-called queen Yunyun is the opinion of those who have rational knowledge and principles.

　　In this way, Holbach speaks from nature to man, from man to man's reason, and from man's reason to the opinions of great men. And the opinions of these great men, in the final analysis, must be in line with nature. Holbach, therefore, is both the most thorough naturalist and the natural cyclist. It is not that he does not recognize natural change, but that this change is only a cyclical isotopic cycle.

　　Holbach, who insists on naturalism, must oppose theism. And his attitude against theism was incomparably firm, and the language he used, especially the gold and jade, could be bent. In his book Sound Thought, he questioned various questions about theology and religion, and then gave Holbach-esque answers. Here are two or three small examples to illustrate.

　　Example 1, What is theology? He wrote: "There is a science whose object is incomprehensible. All the rest of science is fundamentally the opposite, a science that studies only the imperceptible things of the human senses, which Hobbes called the kingdom of darkness. In this realm, everything is subject to laws contrary to those which men can understand in the world in which they live. In this amazing kingdom, everything that is bright and clear becomes dark and blurry. Everything that is obvious becomes unreliable and false; what is impossible becomes possible; the laws of reason turn out to be incorrect, and sound thought becomes absurd. This science is called theology, and it constantly ravages human reason. "

Example 2: Where does religion come from? He replied, "Ignorance, fear — that's the backbone of all religions." The sceptic attitude that people have about God is precisely the reason for His obedience to religion. Whether physically or mentally, everything that is unknown, everything that is vague, will cause fear in people. As soon as fear becomes a habit, it becomes a need, and at that time it seems to man that if he is not afraid of something, he seems to be missing something. All religions have so far been based only on the proposition of what logically calls the expected justification. Religion first establishes unfounded hypotheses and then uses them to make arguments. The so-called clouds of God, in his opinion, are simply impossible to prove, and therefore, they do not exist at all.

　　In addition to naturalism and atheism, Holbach has his own views and thoughts on morality and the rule of law, on the welfare of the state and society, on the environment and education, on wisdom and faith. These insights and reflections of his, if not from the point of view of speculation but from the point of view of enlightenment, are like the seeds of fire stolen by Prometheus. For example, his few political treatises on law and the rule of law are as good as they sound today. He said: "For the law to be just, it must be aimed at the general interests of society as its constant purpose, that is, to guarantee the interests of the overwhelming majority of citizens, for whom they are united." These interests are: freedom, ownership and security. He also said, "The monarch should obey the law, not the law should obey the monarch." "

Holbach enjoyed great prestige in his time and beyond. Although his books are controversial, the controversy does not affect his prestige. His doctrine has been hailed as "the Bible of 18th-century materialism." "

But religion, as a socio-cultural phenomenon, cannot be withered away by critique, including the most thorough theoretical criticism. And to this day, religion still maintains its unique cultural character and charm in various fields of the world in a certain socio-cultural form.

Or for this reason, the modern Western philosopher Cassirer commented on enlightenment philosophy: "It is not Holbach and Ramettley who represent the scientific spirit of the encyclopedic school, but Dharambert." Whether or not to represent the scientific spirit of the encyclopedic school is Dharambert is still debatable, but Cassirer's view is quite representative and is generally unmistakable.

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