Julien Offray de La Mettrie
Encyclopedia
Julien Offray de La Mettrie (November 23, 1709 – November 11, 1751) was a French
physician
and philosopher, and one of the earliest of the French materialists
of the Enlightenment
. He is best known for his work L'homme machine ("Machine man"), wherein he rejected the Cartesian dualism of mind and body, and proposed the metaphor of the human being as machine.
in Brittany on December 25, 1709 and was the son of a prosperous textile merchant. His initial schooling took place in the colleges of Coutances and Caen. After attending the Collège du Plessis in Paris
, he seems to have acquired a vocational interest in becoming a clergyman, but after studying theology
in the Jansenist
schools for some years, his interests turned away from the Church. In 1725, La Mettrie entered the College d'Harcourt to study philosophy and natural science, probably graduating around 1727. At this time, d'Harcourt was pioneering the teaching of Cartesianism in France.
, who was about to take the chair of anatomy at the Jardin du Roi, seems to have influenced him in this decision. For five years, La Mettrie studied at faculty of medicine in Paris, and enjoyed the mentorship of Hunauld.
In 1733, however, he departed for Leiden to study under the famous Herman Boerhaave
. His stay in Holland proved to be short but influential. In the following years, La Mettrie settled down to professional medical practice in his home region of Saint-Malo, disseminating the works and theories of Boerhaave through the publication and translation of several works. He married in 1739 but the marriage, which produced two children, proved an unhappy one. In 1742, La Mettrie left his family and travelled to Paris, where he obtained the appointment of surgeon to the Gardes Francaises
regiment, taking part in several battles during the War of the Austrian Succession
. This experience would instill in him a deep aversion to violence which is evident in his philosophical writings. Much of his time, however, was spent in Paris, and it is likely that during this time he made the acquaintance of Maupertuis
and the Marquise de Chatelet.
It was in these years, during an attack of fever
, that he made observations on himself with reference to the action of quickened blood circulation upon thought, which led him to the conclusion that mental processes were to be accounted for as the effects of organic changes in the brain and nervous system. This conclusion he worked out in his earliest philosophical work, the Histoire naturelle de l'âme (1745). So great was the outcry caused by its publication that La Mettrie was forced to quit his position with the French Guards, taking refuge in Leiden, where he developed his doctrines still more boldly and completely in L'Homme machine a hastily-written treatise based upon consistently materialistic and quasi-atheistic principles. La Mettrie's materialism was in many ways the product of his medical concerns, drawing on the work of 17th-century predecessors such as the Epicurean physician Guillaume Lamy
.
The ethical implications
of these principles would later be worked out in his Discours sur le bonheur, that book La Mettrie considered his Magnum opus
. Here he developed his theory of remorse, i.e. his view about the inauspicious effects of the feelings of guilt acquired at early age during the process of enculturation
. This was the idea which brought him the enmity of virtually all thinkers of the French enlightenment
, and a Damnatio memoriae
which was lifted only a century later by Friedrich Albert Lange
in his Geschichte des Materialismus
.
La Mettrie's hedonistic
and materialistic principles caused outrage even in the relatively tolerant Netherlands. So strong was the feeling against him that in 1748 he was compelled to leave for Berlin
, where, thanks in part to the offices of Maupertuis
, the Prussian king Frederick the Great not only allowed him to practise as a physician, but appointed him court reader. There La Mettrie wrote the Discours sur le bonheur (1748), which appalled leading Enlightenment
thinkers such as Voltaire
, Diderot and D'Holbach due to its explicitly hedonistic
sensualist principles which prioritised the unbridled pursuit of pleasure above all other things.
Frederick the Great gave the funeral oration, which remains the major biographical source on La Mettrie's life. He declared, "La Mettrie died in the house of Milord Tirconnel, the French plenipotentiary, whom he had restored to life. It seems that the disease, knowing with whom it had to deal, was cunning enough to attack him first by the brain, in order to destroy him the more surely. A violent fever with fierce delirium came on. The invalid was obliged to have recourse to the science of his colleagues, but he failed to find the succor that his own skill had so often afforded as well to himself as to the public."http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/LaMettrie/Eulogy/ However, in a confidential letter to the Markgräfin von Bayreuth, Frederick wrote "He was merry, a good devil, a good doctor, and a very bad author. By not reading his books, one can be very content." He then mentioned that La Mettrie had indigestion from pheasant paste
. The reason of his early death has never been disclosed. He was survived by a 5-year-old daughter and his wife.
La Mettrie's collected Oeuvres philosophiques appeared after his death in several editions, published in London, Berlin and Amsterdam respectively.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and philosopher, and one of the earliest of the French materialists
French materialism
French materialism is the name given to a handful of French 18th century philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment, many of them clustered around the salon of Baron d'Holbach...
of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. He is best known for his work L'homme machine ("Machine man"), wherein he rejected the Cartesian dualism of mind and body, and proposed the metaphor of the human being as machine.
Early years
La Mettrie was born at Saint-MaloSaint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
in Brittany on December 25, 1709 and was the son of a prosperous textile merchant. His initial schooling took place in the colleges of Coutances and Caen. After attending the Collège du Plessis in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he seems to have acquired a vocational interest in becoming a clergyman, but after studying theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
in the Jansenist
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
schools for some years, his interests turned away from the Church. In 1725, La Mettrie entered the College d'Harcourt to study philosophy and natural science, probably graduating around 1727. At this time, d'Harcourt was pioneering the teaching of Cartesianism in France.
Medical career
After his studies at d'Harcourt, La Mettrie decided to take up the profession of medicine. A friend of the La Mettrie family, François-Joseph HunauldFrançois-Joseph Hunauld
François-Joseph Hunauld was a French anatomist born in Châteaubriant.In 1722 he received his medical degree at Reims, then continued his studies in Paris under Jacques Bénigne Winslow and Guichard Joseph Duverney...
, who was about to take the chair of anatomy at the Jardin du Roi, seems to have influenced him in this decision. For five years, La Mettrie studied at faculty of medicine in Paris, and enjoyed the mentorship of Hunauld.
Herman Boerhaave
Herman Boerhaave was a Dutch botanist, humanist and physician of European fame. He is regarded as the founder of clinical teaching and of the modern academic hospital. His main achievement was to demonstrate the relation of symptoms to lesions...
. His stay in Holland proved to be short but influential. In the following years, La Mettrie settled down to professional medical practice in his home region of Saint-Malo, disseminating the works and theories of Boerhaave through the publication and translation of several works. He married in 1739 but the marriage, which produced two children, proved an unhappy one. In 1742, La Mettrie left his family and travelled to Paris, where he obtained the appointment of surgeon to the Gardes Francaises
Gardes Françaises
The Gardes Françaises was one of the two non-ceremonial infantry regiments in the "Maison du Roi" of the French Army under the Ancien Régime. The other regiment was the Gardes Suisses, which made the Gardes Françaises the only one recruited from France.-History:The regiment was created in 1563 by...
regiment, taking part in several battles during the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
. This experience would instill in him a deep aversion to violence which is evident in his philosophical writings. Much of his time, however, was spent in Paris, and it is likely that during this time he made the acquaintance of Maupertuis
Maupertuis
Maupertuis may refer to:*Pierre Louis Maupertuis , a French mathematician and philosopher*Maupertuis, Manche, a commune in Manche, France*Maleperduis , the castle of Reynard in the Reynard cycle*Maupertus-sur-Mer, a commune in Manche, France...
and the Marquise de Chatelet.
It was in these years, during an attack of fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
, that he made observations on himself with reference to the action of quickened blood circulation upon thought, which led him to the conclusion that mental processes were to be accounted for as the effects of organic changes in the brain and nervous system. This conclusion he worked out in his earliest philosophical work, the Histoire naturelle de l'âme (1745). So great was the outcry caused by its publication that La Mettrie was forced to quit his position with the French Guards, taking refuge in Leiden, where he developed his doctrines still more boldly and completely in L'Homme machine a hastily-written treatise based upon consistently materialistic and quasi-atheistic principles. La Mettrie's materialism was in many ways the product of his medical concerns, drawing on the work of 17th-century predecessors such as the Epicurean physician Guillaume Lamy
Guillaume Lamy
Guillaume Lamy was a French physician best known for his sympathies with Epicurean philosophy, and for his influence on materialists such as La Mettrie....
.
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
of these principles would later be worked out in his Discours sur le bonheur, that book La Mettrie considered his Magnum opus
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
. Here he developed his theory of remorse, i.e. his view about the inauspicious effects of the feelings of guilt acquired at early age during the process of enculturation
Enculturation
Enculturation is the process by which a person learns the requirements of the culture by which he or she is surrounded, and acquires values and behaviours that are appropriate or necessary in that culture. As part of this process, the influences which limit, direct, or shape the individual include...
. This was the idea which brought him the enmity of virtually all thinkers of the French enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, and a Damnatio memoriae
Damnatio memoriae
Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory" in the sense of a judgment that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman State...
which was lifted only a century later by Friedrich Albert Lange
Friedrich Albert Lange
Friedrich Albert Lange , was a German philosopher and sociologist.-Biography:Lange was born in Wald, near Solingen, the son of the theologian, Johann Peter Lange. He was educated at Duisburg, Zürich and Bonn, where he distinguished himself in gymnastics as much as academically...
in his Geschichte des Materialismus
Geschichte des Materialismus
Geschichte des Materialismus und Kritik seiner Bedeutung in der Gegenwart is a philosophical work by Friedrich Albert Lange, originally written in German and published in October 1865 . Lange vastly extended the second edition published in two volumes in 1873–75...
.
Flight to Prussia
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
and materialistic principles caused outrage even in the relatively tolerant Netherlands. So strong was the feeling against him that in 1748 he was compelled to leave for Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where, thanks in part to the offices of Maupertuis
Maupertuis
Maupertuis may refer to:*Pierre Louis Maupertuis , a French mathematician and philosopher*Maupertuis, Manche, a commune in Manche, France*Maleperduis , the castle of Reynard in the Reynard cycle*Maupertus-sur-Mer, a commune in Manche, France...
, the Prussian king Frederick the Great not only allowed him to practise as a physician, but appointed him court reader. There La Mettrie wrote the Discours sur le bonheur (1748), which appalled leading Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
thinkers such as Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, Diderot and D'Holbach due to its explicitly hedonistic
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
sensualist principles which prioritised the unbridled pursuit of pleasure above all other things.
Death
La Mettrie's celebration of sensual pleasure was said to have resulted in his early death. The French ambassador to Prussia, Tirconnel, grateful to La Mettrie for curing him of an illness, held a feast in his honour. It was claimed that La Mettrie wanted to show either his power of gluttony or his strong constitution by devouring a large quantity of pâte de faisan aux truffes. As a result, he developed a gastric illness of some sort, became delirious, and died.Frederick the Great gave the funeral oration, which remains the major biographical source on La Mettrie's life. He declared, "La Mettrie died in the house of Milord Tirconnel, the French plenipotentiary, whom he had restored to life. It seems that the disease, knowing with whom it had to deal, was cunning enough to attack him first by the brain, in order to destroy him the more surely. A violent fever with fierce delirium came on. The invalid was obliged to have recourse to the science of his colleagues, but he failed to find the succor that his own skill had so often afforded as well to himself as to the public."http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/LaMettrie/Eulogy/ However, in a confidential letter to the Markgräfin von Bayreuth, Frederick wrote "He was merry, a good devil, a good doctor, and a very bad author. By not reading his books, one can be very content." He then mentioned that La Mettrie had indigestion from pheasant paste
Pheasant paste
Pheasant Paste is type of pâté made from pheasant meat and other common pâté ingredients such as sour cream, eggs, onions and butter.-Notable mentions in history:...
. The reason of his early death has never been disclosed. He was survived by a 5-year-old daughter and his wife.
La Mettrie's collected Oeuvres philosophiques appeared after his death in several editions, published in London, Berlin and Amsterdam respectively.
Selected works
- Histoire Naturelle de l'Âme. 1745 (anon.)
- École de la Volupté. 1746, 1747 (anon.)
- Politique du Médecin de Machiavel. 1746 (anon.)
- L'Homme Machine. 1748 (anon.)
- L'Homme Plante. 1748 (anon.)
- Ouvrage de Pénélope ou Machiavel en Médecine. 1748 (pseudonym: Aletheius Demetrius)
- Discours sur le bonheur ou Anti-Sénèque [Traité de la vie heureuse, par Sénèque, avec un Discours du traducteur sur le même sujet]. 1748 (anon.)
- L'Homme plus que Machine. 1748 (anon.)
- Système d'Épicure. 1750 (anon.)
- L'Art de Jouir. 1751 (anon.)
Collected works
- Œuvres philosophiques, 2 vols., Paris: Fayard 1984, 1987 ISBN 2-213-01839-1; ISBN 2-213-01953-5
- [vol. 3] Ouvrage de Pénélope ou Machiavel en Médecine, Paris: Fayard 2002 ISBN 2-213-61448-2
- Œuvres philosophiques, 1 vol., Paris: Coda 2004 ISBN 2-84967-002-2
Critical editions of his major works
- Aram Vartanian (ed.): La Mettrie's L'homme machine. A Study in the Origins of an Idea, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1960)
- John F. Falvey (ed.): La Mettrie. Discours sur le bonheur in Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, vol. cxxxiv (Banbury, Oxfordshire: The Voltaire Foundation, 1975)
- Ann Thomson (ed.): La Mettrie's Discours préliminaire. in Materialism and Society in the Mid-Eighteenth Century (Genève: Librairie Droz, 1981)
- Théo Verbeek (Ed.): Le Traité de l'Ame de La Mettrie, 2 vols. (Utrecht: OMI-Grafisch Bedrijf, 1988)
Selected bibliography
- Friedrich Albert LangeFriedrich Albert LangeFriedrich Albert Lange , was a German philosopher and sociologist.-Biography:Lange was born in Wald, near Solingen, the son of the theologian, Johann Peter Lange. He was educated at Duisburg, Zürich and Bonn, where he distinguished himself in gymnastics as much as academically...
, Geschichte des MaterialismusGeschichte des MaterialismusGeschichte des Materialismus und Kritik seiner Bedeutung in der Gegenwart is a philosophical work by Friedrich Albert Lange, originally written in German and published in October 1865 . Lange vastly extended the second edition published in two volumes in 1873–75...
, 1866 (Eng. trans. The History of Materialism by E. C. Thomas, ii. 1880) - Jakob Elias Poritzky, J. O. de Lamettrie. Sein Leben und seine Werke, (1900, reprint 1970)
- Kathleen Wellman, La Mettrie. Medicine, Philosophy, and Enlightenment, Durham and London, Duke University Press 1992 ISBN 0-8223-1204-2
- Birgit Christensen, Ironie und Skepsis. Das offene Wissenschafts- und Weltverständnis bei Julien Offray de La Mettrie. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann 1996 ISBN 3-8260-1271-2
- Hartmut Hecht, ed., La Mettrie. Ansichten und Einsichten. Berlin: Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2004 (Proceedings of Potsdam/Berlin La Mettrie Conference, 2001) ISBN 3-8305-0558-2
- Bernd A. Laska: La Mettrie - ein gewollt unbekannter Bekannter. In: Aufklärung und Kritik, Sonderheft 14/2008, pp. 64-84