Marquis de Sade: a materialist to the ultimate consequences

Abstract

Presentation of the theoretical approaches that allow rethinking in a new light the extreme uniqueness of Sade's work that challenges us. Consideration that the literary and philosophical work of the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) was mainly supported by the materialistic theses by J.O. La Mettrie (1709-1751) and E. Condillac (1715-1780). Sade produces a kind of mixture of both materialists from the eighteenth century, which, as we shall see, also differs from theirs. Sade shows, especially through the orgy, the full realization of his theses, professing a more than radical materialism, in fact, to the ultimate consequences. To demonstrate this, I will reflect on the following concepts: Nature, Human nature, Matter, Reason, Pleasure, Libertine Education and, finally, the concept of Entropy, understood as a situation of chaos, of maximum disorder, of flow of energy flow. It recognizes the universal tendency of all physical systems to lead to a state of increasing disorder, resulting in the inability to maintain any form of life. Well, all these concepts are gathered here to justify the "Orgy", distinguished by the upper-case letter. Finally, this adventure intends to highlight the influences of Sade and the originality of his work, as well as his contribution to the history of modern and contemporary philosophy.