The Natural History of the Soul 1745
‘The Aristippus of modern materialism’, La Mettrie made observations upon himself during an attack of fever; seeing a connection between the rapid circulation of blood and the operation of the mind, La Mettrie concluded that psychical phenomena were to be explained as the effects of organic changes in the brain and nervous system. The book caused an outcry and was seized by the police; La Mettrie was forced to return to Holland from Paris. In 1746 The Natural History of the Soul, together with Diderot's Philosophical Thoughts, was condemned by the Paris Parlement.
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Politique du médecin de Machiavel (Machiavellian Policy of Doctors) 1746
An attack on the medical profession
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L’Homme machine 1747
Published in Leiden for which the publisher Luzac was condemned by the religious authorities and translated in 1749 as Man a Machine. The work bears similarities in tone and content to Maupertius Venus physique, (1745). In the satirical dedication to Albrecht von Haller, La Mettrie assimiliated the pleasures of philosophy to sexual pleasure: speaking of the “sublime voluptuousness of study” he hints that he found it necessary to lead a life of sensual dissipation for the sake of finding philosophical truth.
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Discours sur le bonheur ou l’Anti-Sénèque 1748
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L'Ouvrage de Pénelope (Penelope's Works) 1748
Publication of first two volumes of La Mattrie's medical satire.
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L’Homme plante (Man as Plant) 1748
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Physical Reflexions on the Origins of Animals 1749
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Anti-Sénèque 1750
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Les Animaux plus que machines 1750
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Philosophical Works 1750
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Le système d’Epicure 1750
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Medical Works 1751
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Le Petit Homme à longue queue 1751
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L’Art de jour 1751
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Vénus métaphysique 1751
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