Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- 10 Reformation
- 11 Early Modern England
- 12 Spinoza and the Low Countries
- 13 Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century France
- 14 The Scientific Revolution
- 15 The Scottish Enlightenment
- 16 Al-Ghazālī
- 17 Lives of Jesus and Historico-critical Skepticism
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
13 - Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century France
from Part III - Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 September 2021
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- 10 Reformation
- 11 Early Modern England
- 12 Spinoza and the Low Countries
- 13 Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century France
- 14 The Scientific Revolution
- 15 The Scottish Enlightenment
- 16 Al-Ghazālī
- 17 Lives of Jesus and Historico-critical Skepticism
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
The late eighteenth century in France saw the publication of an unambiguously explicit, self-assured, and systematic atheism in the works of Paul Henry Thiry (baron) d’Holbach, Jacques-André Naigeon, and, posthumously, Denis Diderot. In the early eighteenth century, several clandestine manuscripts circulated (in France and elsewhere) about whose atheistic status scholars argue, but all students agree that one of these manuscripts, the posthumously discovered Testament of Jean Meslier, a country Catholic priest, was an expression of intensely and fully atheistic views (Benítez 1996; 2012).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Atheism , pp. 242 - 257Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
References
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Benítez, M. 2012. Les yeux de la raison: Le matérialisme athée de Jean Meslier. Paris: H. Champion.Google Scholar
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Buckley, M. J. 1987. At the Origins of Modern Atheism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. An examination of the profound consequences of the shift in early modern theology from a focus on religious experience to a focus on philosophical demonstration.Google Scholar
Berman, D. 1996. History of Atheism in Britain from Hobbes to Russell. Bristol: Thoemmes Press. An important point of contrast to the French phenomena.Google Scholar
Hunter, M. and Wooten, D. (eds.) 1992. Atheism from the Reformation to the Enlightenment. Oxford: Clarendon Press. A variety of perspectives and cultural comparisons on the subject of early modern atheism.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Israel, J. I. 2001. Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650–1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press. An influential and widely contested work that, with Israel’s subsequent writings, emphasizes the influence of Spinoza and his European disciples.Google Scholar
Kors, A. C. 1976. D’Holbach’s Coterie: An Enlightenment in Paris. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. An examination of Holbach’s salon, identifying the handful of atheists who attended there, including Holbach, Diderot, and Naigeon.Google Scholar
Mori, G. 1999. Bayle philosophe. Paris: Champion. A complex and provocative examination of the role of Pierre Bayle in philosophical debates relevant to early modern atheism.Google Scholar
Nadler, S. 2010. The Best of All Possible Worlds: A Story of Philosophers, God, and Evil in the Age of Reason. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. A rigorous examination of early modern debates over the compatibility of God and the reality of evil.Google Scholar
Rétat, P. 1971. Le Dictionnaire de Bayle et la ute philosophique au XVIIIe siècle. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. A significant scholarly work that emphasizes the influence of Pierre Bayle.Google Scholar
Schröder, W. 1998. Ursprünge des Atheismus. Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzboog. A wide-ranging examination of the roots of European atheistic thought.Google Scholar
Vernière, P. 1954. Spinoza et la pensée française avant la Révolution, 2nd edition. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. The first of the works to make expansive claims for a particularly strong Spinozist influence.Google Scholar
Buckley, M. J. 1987. At the Origins of Modern Atheism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. An examination of the profound consequences of the shift in early modern theology from a focus on religious experience to a focus on philosophical demonstration.Google Scholar
Berman, D. 1996. History of Atheism in Britain from Hobbes to Russell. Bristol: Thoemmes Press. An important point of contrast to the French phenomena.Google Scholar
Hunter, M. and Wooten, D. (eds.) 1992. Atheism from the Reformation to the Enlightenment. Oxford: Clarendon Press. A variety of perspectives and cultural comparisons on the subject of early modern atheism.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Israel, J. I. 2001. Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650–1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press. An influential and widely contested work that, with Israel’s subsequent writings, emphasizes the influence of Spinoza and his European disciples.Google Scholar
Kors, A. C. 1976. D’Holbach’s Coterie: An Enlightenment in Paris. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. An examination of Holbach’s salon, identifying the handful of atheists who attended there, including Holbach, Diderot, and Naigeon.Google Scholar
Mori, G. 1999. Bayle philosophe. Paris: Champion. A complex and provocative examination of the role of Pierre Bayle in philosophical debates relevant to early modern atheism.Google Scholar
Nadler, S. 2010. The Best of All Possible Worlds: A Story of Philosophers, God, and Evil in the Age of Reason. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. A rigorous examination of early modern debates over the compatibility of God and the reality of evil.Google Scholar
Rétat, P. 1971. Le Dictionnaire de Bayle et la ute philosophique au XVIIIe siècle. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. A significant scholarly work that emphasizes the influence of Pierre Bayle.Google Scholar
Schröder, W. 1998. Ursprünge des Atheismus. Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzboog. A wide-ranging examination of the roots of European atheistic thought.Google Scholar
Vernière, P. 1954. Spinoza et la pensée française avant la Révolution, 2nd edition. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. The first of the works to make expansive claims for a particularly strong Spinozist influence.Google Scholar
Suggested Further Reading
Buckley, M. J. 1987. At the Origins of Modern Atheism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. An examination of the profound consequences of the shift in early modern theology from a focus on religious experience to a focus on philosophical demonstration.Google Scholar
Berman, D. 1996. History of Atheism in Britain from Hobbes to Russell. Bristol: Thoemmes Press. An important point of contrast to the French phenomena.Google Scholar
Hunter, M. and Wooten, D. (eds.) 1992. Atheism from the Reformation to the Enlightenment. Oxford: Clarendon Press. A variety of perspectives and cultural comparisons on the subject of early modern atheism.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Israel, J. I. 2001. Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650–1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press. An influential and widely contested work that, with Israel’s subsequent writings, emphasizes the influence of Spinoza and his European disciples.Google Scholar
Kors, A. C. 1976. D’Holbach’s Coterie: An Enlightenment in Paris. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. An examination of Holbach’s salon, identifying the handful of atheists who attended there, including Holbach, Diderot, and Naigeon.Google Scholar
Mori, G. 1999. Bayle philosophe. Paris: Champion. A complex and provocative examination of the role of Pierre Bayle in philosophical debates relevant to early modern atheism.Google Scholar
Nadler, S. 2010. The Best of All Possible Worlds: A Story of Philosophers, God, and Evil in the Age of Reason. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. A rigorous examination of early modern debates over the compatibility of God and the reality of evil.Google Scholar
Rétat, P. 1971. Le Dictionnaire de Bayle et la ute philosophique au XVIIIe siècle. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. A significant scholarly work that emphasizes the influence of Pierre Bayle.Google Scholar
Schröder, W. 1998. Ursprünge des Atheismus. Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzboog. A wide-ranging examination of the roots of European atheistic thought.Google Scholar
Vernière, P. 1954. Spinoza et la pensée française avant la Révolution, 2nd edition. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. The first of the works to make expansive claims for a particularly strong Spinozist influence.Google Scholar