Man A Machine

"Man a Machine" by Julien Offray de La Mettrie is a provocative treatise from the Enlightenment period that challenges traditional distinctions between humans and machines. In this work, La Mettrie contends that humans are purely material beings, driven by their physical components, akin to complex machines. He argues that all human thought, emotion, and behavior can be understood in terms of mechanical and physiological principles, dismissing the idea of an immaterial soul. This materialist perspective, revolutionary at the time, stirred controversy as it confronted religious and philosophical views about human nature and the soul.