Mettrie, Julien Offray de La

French philosopher and physician who advocated the theory of materialism. La Mettrie believed that all things, spiritual inclusive, have a material explanation.
He carried out an in-depth study of the relationship between soul and body and arrived at the conclusion that soul has no independent basis and is just a result of mental activity. He published these views in Histoire naturelle de l'ame (Natural History of the Soul, 1745). His other philosophies are recorded in L'Homme machine (Man a Machine, 1748), Discours sur le bonheur ou l'anti-Seneque (Discourse on Happiness, or the Anti-Seneca), and L'Art de Jouir (The Art of Enjoyment, 1751). A collection of his works Oeuvres philosophiques was published in 1751.
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French philosopher and physician who advocated the theory of materialism. He propounded on the relation between soul and body and wrote works of great significance.;