Charles Léopold Mayer (1881–1971) was a French

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

, humanist and

materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...

philosopher.

Biography

Mayer was a

. He argued that all living matter is "irritable" and responds to stimuli. He explained the phenomena of life without recourse to "

final causes The four causes or four explanations are, in Aristotelian thought, four fundamental types of answer to the question "why?", in analysis of change or movement in nature: the material, the formal, the efficient, and the final. Aristotle wrote tha ...

". He believed that all organisms from bacteria to humans are conscious. Mayer called his doctrine " sensationalism" which he equated with the irritability of living matter.Holmes, Eugene C. (1963). ''Reviewed Work: Sensation: The Origin of Life by Charles Leopold Mayer''. ''

Science & Society ''Science & Society: A Journal of Marxist Thought and Analysis'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of Marxist scholarship. It covers economics, philosophy of science, historiography, women's studies, literature, the arts, and other soci ...

'' 27 (1): 118-119. He held the view that all life, including man's is based on irritability. Thought is consciousness of irritability. According to Mayer "life is linked with sensation and cannot be understood except through sensation". He argued that organisms only know the world by their sensations and that this is a mechanical phenomenon to the effect that there is no design, final cause,

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

ism or teleology. He subscribed to the materialist views of

Epicurus Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...

, he commented that "in human affairs,

Epicureanism Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Epi ...

is the only natural ethics which does not demand profound or subtle reasoning." Several of his books were translated by Harold Atkins Larrabee. Mayer advocated progressionist liberalism and opposed Marxism.Sellars, Roy Wood. (1952). ''Reviewed Works: Man: Mind or Matter? by Charles Mayer, Harold A. Larrabee; The Moral Life and the Ethical Life by Eliseo Vivas''. ''

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research ''Philosophy and Phenomenological Research'' (''PPR'') is a bimonthly philosophy journal founded in 1940. Until 1980, it was edited by Marvin Farber, then by Roderick Chisholm and since 1986 by Ernest Sosa. It considers itself open to a variety o ...

'' 12 (3): 436-442. His book ''Man: Mind or Matter?'' endorsed a "renovated and rejuvenated philosophy of rationalistic materialism."Sastry, N. S. N. (1952). ''Review: Man, Mind or Matter by Charles Mayer''. '' Journal of the Indian Institute of Science'' 34: 143-146. He opposed the

dialectical materialism Dialectical materialism is a philosophy of science, history, and nature developed in Europe and based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist dialectics, as a materialist philosophy, emphasizes the importance of real-world con ...

of Marxism and the pessimistic materialism of the nineteenth century. He favoured the ethical individualistic, optimistic materialism of Epicurus. Mayer defined his "progressionistic materialism" as a form of humanism, a "conception of life which may be capable of satisfying our highest and deepest needs." Mayer argued that pleasure is the basis of progressive materialism. He commented that "Nature or more exactly living matter, has no other purpose than to continue to live because it finds great joy in living" and pleasure is a "product of purely material sensations". In 1982, the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind was established.

Selected publications

*''Man: Mind or Matter?'' (Translated and with a Preface by Harold A. Larrabee, 1951) *''Quest of a New Ethics'' (1954)King, Albion Roy. (1956). ''Reviewed Work: In Quest of a New Ethics by Charles Mayer, Harold A. Larrabee''. ''

The Journal of Religion ''The Journal of Religion'' is an academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press founded in 1897 as ''The American Journal of Theology''. The journal "embraces all areas of theology (biblical, historical, ethical, and constructiv ...

'' 36 (3): 201. *''Sensation: The Origin of Life'' (1961) *''Man Faces His Destiny'' (Translated by Heloise Norwell, J. S. Norwell and D. C. Fox, 1968)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Charles Leopold 1881 births 1971 deaths 20th-century French philosophers French atheists French biochemists French humanists French materialists

Biography

Selected publications

See also

References