Christian Cyclopedia

(1709–51). Physician and philos.; atheist; b. Saint-Malo, Fr.; forced to flee from Fr. and, later, Leiden, because of his materialism.* Held that the soul is produced by physical growth, that the brain has thought muscles, that psychical phenomena are caused by changes in brain and nervous system, and that sensual pleasures should be pursued. Works include Histoire naturel le de l'âme; L'homme machine.