Why Baron d’Holbach Deserves a Place on the Syllabus
Baron d’Holbach should be on the syllabus because his ideas were very frowned upon and very much against popular beliefs. Researching this philosopher has been a great experience and I learned so much from his works. It was very interesting to see how his ideas and life in general connected to those of other philosophers that we have seen in class.
Baron d’Holbach was not a “traditional” philosopher from that time. He married his cousin and then married her younger sister. He had many controversial opinions that later went on to become big influences in modern philosophy. He had many different perspectives on nature, life, religion, the universe, and humanity. His famous book “System of Nature”, was burned at the stake, since he was an atheist with very radical ideologies. However, was able to remain anonymous in his publications in order to not ruin his reputation! He was left with a great fortune and was a party animal. He was very well known for hosting elegant and prestigious parties.
One could say that d’Holbach went against the current. He had very dark views that many people of the time were not ready for. He didn’t care at all and did it anyway (like a bowser). He went against normal thoughts and beliefs and had a remarkable character.
He had a deterministic view (didn’t believe in free will), didn’t think that there was anything beyond the physical world, and did not believe in religion or God.
I think it would be a great philosopher to include in the syllabus, since his ideas were very, extremely criticized, and today they have great influence. This would be a little twist, or a different, more radical perspective to what we have seen in class.