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Bibliography – Baron d’Holbach

Primary Sources

  • Le Christiniasme devoile, 1761
  • Systeme de la nature, 2 volumes, London, 1770
  • System of Nature, transalated 1970
  • Le Bons Sens, London, 1772
  • La Politique naturelle, London, 1773
  • Systeme social, 3 volumes, London, 1773
  • La morale universalle, 3 volumes, Amsterdam, 1776
  • Ethocratie, Amsterdam, 1776

Secondary Sources

  • LeBuffe, Michael. “Paul-Henri Thiry (Baron) D’holbach.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 16 Jan. 2020, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/holbach/#Bib.
    • This article summarizes the biography of Baron d’Holbach. It focuses and summarizes his view on metaphysics, ethics, and ethocracy. It is a great resource to get a general idea of what Baron d’Holbach’s life was like and of his views and perspectives.
  • Leibniz, G. W., & Strickland, L. (2014). Leibniz’s Monadology: A new translation and guide. Edinburgh University Press. 
  • In this book, Leibniz argues that there are immaterial substances which he calls “monads”, which make up the Universe. Therefore arguing that the Universe is made up of not only physical things, but also immaterial things.

  • Leibniz, G. W., Alexander, H. G., Newton, I., & Clarke, S. (1998). The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence. Manchester University Press. 
  • In this book, Leibniz and Clarke exchange correspondence and Leibniz expresses his views on God and religion.
  • Blank, Andreas. “D’Holbach on Self-Esteem, Justice, and Cosmopolitanism.” Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 49, no. 4, 2016, pp. 439–53. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43956548. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.
    • In this article, D’Holbach argues that our desire of having justified self-esteem is what can lead and persuade us to attain duties of justice. In this article, it is argued that his view could offer insight on the problem on how our interests lead to cosmopolitanism. It is also argued that his conception could provide responses to criticisms of cosmopolitanism.
  • Devellennes, C. (2014). Utility contra utilitarianism: Holbach’s international ethics. Journal of International Political Theory, 10(2), 188–205. https://doi.org/10.1177/0278364914526019
    • This article is focused on the utilitarian theory of d’Holbach and his view on ethics and its relationship with utilitarianism. He raises challenges to realist and liberal theories. This article is focused more on his contribution to international ethics.
  • James Llana. “Natural History and the ‘Encyclopédie.’” Journal of the History of Biology, vol. 33, no. 1, 2000, pp. 1–25. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4331563. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.
    • D’Holbach, along with other philosophers, was one of the main contributors to natural history in the “Encyclopedie”. They aimed at sweeping overview of knowledge. In this article we can find some of d’Holbach’s contributions to natural history and its importance.
  • Treuherz, Nick, 2016 “The diffusion and impact of Baron d’Holbach’s texts in Great Britain, 1765–1800,” in Radical Voices, Radical Ways, Laurent Curelly and Nigel Smith (eds.), Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 125–148.
    • This focuses on the data and circulation of d’Holbach’s works and the press reactions to them. Treuherz examines d’Holbach’s texts and argues that networks and friendships could have allowed his texts to penetrate the British markets. Treuherz sheds light on the adjustment of French notions of radicalism.