Émilie du Châtelet and La Mettrie
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Ruth HAGENGRUBER (ed.), Époque émilienne : philosophy and science in the age of Émilie du Châtelet (1706-1749), Cham : Springer, 2022, Women in the history of philosophy and sciences, pp. 377-389
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THOMSON, Ann, Émilie du Châtelet and La Mettrie, in Ruth HAGENGRUBER (ed.), Époque émilienne : philosophy and science in the age of Émilie du Châtelet (1706-1749), Cham : Springer, 2022, Women in the history of philosophy and sciences, pp. 377-389 - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/75074
Abstract
The scandalous French materialist Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709-51) is often said to have had close links to Émilie du Châtelet. This chapter looks at the supposed evidence, showing first of all that certain remarks in his writings have mistakenly been taken to be references to du Châtelet. The main discussion concerns a ‘Lettre critique’ addressed to her, published under La Mettrie’s name as an introduction to a new edition of his Histoire naturelle de l’âme in 1747. The attribution to La Mettrie is here questioned on the basis of a detailed study of the content and argument of the letter and his use of du Châtelet’s writings in the work itself.