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The System of Nature
''The System of Nature or, the Laws of the Moral and Physical World'' (''Système de la Nature ou Des Loix du Monde Physique et du Monde Moral'') is a work of philosophy by Paul Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (1723–1789). It was originally published under the name of Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud, a deceased member of the French Academy of Science. D'Holbach wrote and published this book – possibly with the assistance of Diderot〔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.〕 but with the support of Jacques-André Naigeon – anonymously in 1770, describing the universe in terms of the principles of philosophical materialism: The mind is identified with brain, there is no "soul" without a living body, the world is governed by strict deterministic laws, free will is an illusion,〔''System of Nature'' Vol. 1, Chap XI "Of the System of Man's free agency": "In despite of 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."〕 there are no final causes, and whatever happens takes place because it inexorably must. Most notoriously, the work explicitly 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 he tried to develop his philosophy in accordance with the known facts of nature and the scientific knowledge of the day, citing, for example, 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 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.〔''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.〕 Its principles are summed up in a more popular form in d'Holbach's ''Bon Sens, ou idées naturelles opposees aux idées surnaturelles''.〔(''Open Library'' ) (pdf in French). Amsterdam, 1772〕
==Criticism==
The book was considered extremely radical in its day and the list of people writing refutations of the work was long. The prominent 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 ''Système'' in the article "Dieu" in his ''Dictionnaire philosophique'', while Frederick the Great also drew up an answer to it.〔Commenting on the book, Frederick observed:
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.〔
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