Paul-Henri Dietrich, baron d’Holbach

Paul-Henri Dietrich, baron d’Holbach (born December 1723, Edesheim, near Landau, Rhenish Palatinate [Germany]—died January 21, 1789, Paris, France) was a French encyclopaedist and philosopher, a celebrated exponent of atheism and materialism. His inherited wealth allowed him to entertain many of the noted philosophers of the day, some of whom (Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon; Jean-Jacques Rousseau; and Jean Le Rond d’Alembert) reportedly withdrew from his gatherings, frightened by the audacity of their speculations.

In deference to his uncle—Franz Adam (or François-Adam) d’Holbach, a naturalized French citizen to whom he owed his wealth—he added the surname of Holbach to that of Dietrich (sometimes rendered in French as Thiry). He himself became a naturalized French citizen in 1749.

Holbach contributed to Denis Diderot’s Encyclopédie 376 articles (translations from German texts), mostly on chemistry and allied scientific topics. His most popular book, Système de la nature (1770; “The System of Nature”), published under the name of J.B. Mirabaud, caustically derided religion and espoused an atheistic, deterministic materialism: causality became simply relationships of motion, humans became machines devoid of free will, and religion was excoriated as harmful and untrue. In Le Christianisme dévoilé (1761; “Christianity Unveiled”), published under the name of a deceased friend, N.A. Boulanger, he attacked Christianity as contrary to reason and nature. Système social (1773; “Social System”) placed morality and politics in a utilitarian framework wherein duty became prudent self-interest. His other works included Histoire critique de Jésus Christ (1770; “Critical History of Jesus Christ”) and La Contagion sacrée (1768; “The Sacred Contagion”).

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Philosophy 101

Holbach’s writings, generally considered mere echoes of opinions expressed by those who shared his table, were illogical and inconsistent. Voltaire felt the need to reply, but Goethe and Percy Bysshe Shelley fell under their sway. Benevolent by nature, Holbach set aside his personal dislikes by offering his home to exiled Jesuits in 1762.