Baron D’Holbach developed a mechanistic metaphysic view.This means that any event can be described and reduced to only matter, motion, and the laws that these two share. Baron D’Holbach had very controversial opposing views against religion. People often gave Baron D’Holbach a negative connotation since during this time, it was very frowned upon to be an atheist.
“The universe, the vast assemblage of everything that exists, presents only matter and motion: the whole offers to our contemplation nothing but an immense, an uninterrupted succession of causes and effects” (Systeme de la Nature, 15).
Locke used to say that bodies have both primary and secondary qualities. Primary qualities were those that were possessed by all bodies, such as solidity, extension, figure, number, and motion. These are also called “real” qualities, since they are inseparable from the bodies themselves. Secondary qualities are those that derive from primary (“real”) qualities. These are for example, color, taste, sound, etc. Although Baron D’Holbach does agree with Locke about primary and secondary qualities, he differs in the sense that secondary qualities derive from primary qualities. Since different objects possess different qualities, Holbach says that matter is a class rather than a particular thing.
Baron D’Holbach had a very deterministic view. He argued that humans do not have free will. Determinism is the idea that there is no free will, saying that all matter is only part of physical laws. The argument for determinism is that reality is only made up of matter and everything is subject to physical laws. Baron D’Holbach said that freedom was an illusion. “Those who have pretended that the soul is distinguished from the body, is immaterial, straws its ideas from its own peculiar source, acts by its own energies without the aid of any exterior object; by consequence of their own system, have enfranchised it from those physical laws, according to which all beings of which we have knowledge are obliged to act. They have believed that the foul is mistress of its own conduct, is able to regulate its own peculiar operation; has the faculty to determine its will by its own natural energy; in a word, they have pretended man is a free agent” (System of Nature, Ch. XI). Baron D’Holbach had physicalist views and did not believe that there was such a thing as a soul. He believed that there were no immaterial things and that everything was part of the physical. He argued that those who believed that the soul is immaterial, have liberated it from any physical law and therefore think that man is a free agent, or in other words, that we have free will. “It has been already sufficiently proved, that the soul is nothing more than the body, considered relatively to some of its functions, more concealed than others: it has been shewn, that this soul, even when it shall be supposed immaterial, is continually modified conjointly with the body; is submitted to motion; that without this it would remain inert and dead” that, consequently, it is subjected to the influence of those material, to the operation of those physical causes, which give impulse to the body; of which the mode of existence, whether habitual or transitory, depends upon the material elements by which it is surrounded; that form its texture; that constitute its temperamental that enter into it by the means of the aliments; that penetrate it by subtility; the faculties which are called intellectual, and those qualities which are styled moral, have been explained in a manner purely physical; entirely natural: in the last place, it has been demonstrated that all the ideas, all the systems, all the affections, all the opinions, whether true or false, which man form to himself, are to be attributed to his physical powers; are to be ascribed to his material senses” (System of Nature, Ch. XI). Baron D’Holbach argued that there was no such thing as free will, and that the will is a modification of the brain (a physical thing) which is disposed to action.
In “The System of Nature”, one of Baron D’Holbach’s greatest books, he stated that Nature was a means for liberating humanity from religion. “The source of man’s unhappiness is his ignorance of Nature. The pertinacity with which he clings to blind opinions imbibed in his infancy, which interweave themselves with his existence, the consequent prejudice that warps his mind, that prevents its expansion, that renders him the slave of fiction, appears to doom him to continual error. He resembles a child destitute of experience, full of ideal notions: a dangerous leaven mixes itself with all his knowledge: it is of necessity obscure, it is vacillating and false” (System of Nature). Baron D’Holbach did not believe in religion or any God for that matter, since his arguments were against anything beyond the realm of reality and nature (matter and the physical world). In his argument, he also states that human beings do not have free will. “Man’s life is a line that nature commands him to describe upon the surface of the earth, without his ever being able to swerve from it, even for an instant. He is born without his own consent; his organization does in nowise depend upon himself; his ideas come to him involuntarily; his habits are in power of those who cause him
System of Nature was considered an extremely radical book back in its day, due to Baron D’Holbach’s claims. Among many criticisms, Frederick the Great responded to Holbach’s book: “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” (Frederick). He attacked Baron D’Holbach’s claims since they were seen as an attack on religion and on its believers. Even though Baron D’Holbach was not a scientist, he was scientifically influenced in his literature and thoughts, acting in accordance with the known laws of nature, science, and experiments of that time.
Glossary
assemblage: a collection or gathering of things or people. In his quote, Baron D’Holbach was referencing the vast collection of everything that makes up the Universe.
destitute: without the basic necessities of life; not having. In his quote, Baron D’Holbach refers to a person who is like a child, due to the lack of experience and knowledge of many things.
enfranchised: set free; liberate; release.
foul: wicked or immoral.
free agent: A person with the capacity to act independently and make free choices based on their will.
imbibed: absorb or assimilate (ideas or knowledge). Baron D’Hobach was talking about the ignorance of man; he resembles a child who absorbs all the information and knowledge during his infancy even if they are blind opinions. These stay with the person and can therefore lead to ignorance of men.
immaterial: spiritual, eater than physical
interweave: weave or become woven together; blend closely. When talking about the imbibed opinions of infancy, Baron D’Holbach argues that these ideas and notions blend with the existence of man.
leaven: a substance, typically yeast, that is used in dough to make it rise; a pervasive influence that modifies something or transforms it for the better. An ignorant man, according to Baron D’Holbach, resembles a child who does not have experience and is full of ideal notions. Which is something dangerous. The definition that Baron D’Holbach is using refers to the influence that transforms something, but he says it is dangerous.
nowise: in no way or manner; not at all.
pertinacity: adhering resolutely to an opinion, purpose, or design. Used by D’Holbach to refer to what the ignorant man clings to.
shewn: shown.
succession: a number of people or things sharing a specified characteristic and following one after the other. Baron D’Holbach, in his argument of materialism, argues that everything is an effect of a cause, and that it therefore keeps going and going uninterrupted.
swerve: change or cause to change direction abruptly; an abrupt change in direction.