Helvétius, d’Holbach, La Mettrie. Natura, tecnologia, diritto.

This essay explores the philosophies of La Mettrie, d’Holbach, and Helvétius, focusing on their materialist and deterministic conception of the human being as a machine governed by nature. Rejecting the notion of free will, these thinkers reframe morality, rights, and law within a naturalistic framework, where pleasure, necessity, and education guide human behavior. Their radical ideas are reconsidered here in light of contemporary technological developments, such as neurotechnologies and human enhancement, which blur the boundaries between the organic and the mechanical. The paper argues that their perspectives provide critical tools to interpret present debates on autonomy, responsibility, and control in technologically advanced societies. Concepts like the “right to happiness” or the mechanical view of moral choices reveal tensions between freedom and determinism, especially when applied to governance, justice, and social engineering. Ultimately, the study invites a rethinking of human identity and legal paradigms in a time of growing human-machine integration.