JEAN MESLIER
GLOSSARY
This page provides an explanation of some of the important words and ideas of Meslier's work. Most of the work is self-explanatory and since Meslier wrote a single work, there was not much discourse between him and other philosophers. However, some key ideas do exist and so are listed below.
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God
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An infinitely perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good being
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Religion
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Man-made as a way to serve the means of politicians to gain influence, power and wealth
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Idolatry
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Worshiping or praising some idol or deity
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(Blind) Faith
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Belief in something even if there is no proof or even a contradiction arising from reason or intellect
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A primary principle in all religion
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Proof
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Something that must decisively confirm the truth of falsehood of something
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First Being
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Something that is eternal (always exists and always will) and independent of other causes
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Materialism
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The only thing that exists is matter and its movement and interaction
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Place
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A space or limited extension that contains a body
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Space
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A more spacious extension that constrains or can contain multiple bodies
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Extension
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In general, it is space without limits, without ends, which contains all begins, places and imaginable space
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Matter,
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The fundamental basis of the world from which all other things can be made
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It can move in itself and only interact with itself and is the first being
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Communalism
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A type of living and governance where everything is owned by everyone, all goods are equally distributed, and all necessity is met
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All people in the society provide utility to the community in different forms
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