Holbachâs Skepticism

Alan Charles Kors

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1 Holbachâs Skepticism

In: The Great Protector of Wits

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Alan Charles Kors

Alan Charles Kors
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 21â38

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004516847_003

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Abstract

Often seen as a dogmatic in his materialism, ethics, and political philosophy, Paul-Henri Thiry, baron dâHolbach was, with his closest associates, deeply skeptical about the human ability to seek truth and about the seemingly inherent flaws of human nature, which profoundly affected both his presentation of atheism and his sense of human possibility. However âradicalâ Holbachâs alienation from the beliefs and practices of his contemporaneous world, he was pessimistic about demonstrative knowledge and fundamental political change. Seen in this light, his political and philosophical works reveal a far more complex thinker than is usually recognized, a philosophe unconvinced that what he most would hope for concerning the future of human thought and society was realizable. An examination of similar themes in the work of his closest colleagues, Naigeon, Grimm, and Diderot, will illustrate that he was not alone.

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The Great Protector of Wits

Baron d'Holbach and His Time

Series:Â Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, Volume: 339

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004516847

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 26 May 2022

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Front Matter

Part 1 Holbach: Philosopher and Philosophe

Part 2 Holbach: Strategist of the Enlightenment

Part 4 Holbach and His Time

Part 5 Holbach and Revolutionary Consciousnesses

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1 Holbachâs Skepticism

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The Great Protector of Wits

Baron d'Holbach and His Time

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1 Holbachâs Skepticism