Liverpool University Press: Books: Julien Offray de La Mettrie, 'Discours sur le bonheur'

Book

1975

December 1st, 1975

FormatPaperback

£45.00

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780729400206?cc=us

Table of Contents
Section Title	Page	Price
Cover	1
Half Title	2
Title Page	4
Copyright Page	5
Dedication	6
Table of Contents	8
INTRODUCTION	12
I. Principles of this edition	12
i The text	12
ii Dates	14
iii Presentation	18
iv Structure of the Discours sur le bonkeur	20
II. Reflection of contemporaries in the writing and the rewritings	26
i Maupertuis and his friend	26
ii Maupertuis and ‘la philosophie morale’	31
iii Fontenelle	40
iv Madame Du Chatelet	42
v Frederick II	47
vi Pernetti	49
vii ‘Saint-Evremond’ (La Serre)	51
III. Discours sur le bonheur in relation to some earlier figures	56
i Descartes	56
ii Montaigne	61
iii Seneca: epicureanism and stoicism	66
iv Other figures referred to by La Mettrie	70
IV. Reverberations	74
i La Mettrie’s personality	74
ii Exploitation of La Mettrie by religious writers	88
iii Sensitivity of the philosophes to exploitation of La Mettrie	92
iv Reaction to La Mettrie in periodicals	99
v. Conclusion	106
THE TEXT	112
PREFACE	112
Section i Introductory passage	122
Section ii Le bonheur organique	127
Section iii Education	135
a. Conditioning and enlightenment	135
b. Immortality	136
c. Virtue	139
d. L’amour-propre	146
e. Remorse	151
f. Instinct and natural law	155
g. Tolerance and incentives	159
Section iv Fortitude	166
a. The philosopher	166
b. The writer	171
c. Temperament	176
Section v Happiness through social facilities	182
a. Learned pursuits	182
b. Wealth	185
c. Sex	189
d. Crime	195
e. Social surgery	196
Section vi The medical standpoint	198
Section vii Endings	203
a. of B and C	203
b. of C only	210
c. ‘Conclusion’ of B and C	216
APPENDIXES	220

Julien Offray de La Mettrie, 'Discours sur le bonheur'