La MettrieJulien Offray de la Mettrie, best known as the author of LHomme machine, appears as a minor character in most accounts of the Enlightenment. But in this intellectual biography by Kathleen Wellman, La Mettriephysician philosopheemerges as a central figure whose medical approach to philosophical and moral issues had a profound influence on the period and its legacy. Wellmans study presents La Mettrie as an advocate of progressive medical theory and