Helvétius's De l'esprit Condemned
1758
The French philosophe published a materialist treatise arguing that self-interest was the only engine of morality. The Sorbonne condemned it; the Parlement of Paris burned it; the Pope anathematized it. Sales soared. Europe was learning that there was no better advertisement for a dangerous book than a crowd of clerics lighting it on fire.
In context
Also in 1758 (3 other events on record)
- Qing Complete Conquest of the Dzungars · Central Asia · War
- Halley's Comet Returns on Schedule · Europe · Science
- Fall of Louisbourg · North America · War
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Culture
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.