Michel Onfray (born 1959) is one of the most popular contemporary French intellectuals. Affirming the principles of non-partisanship and non-religiousness of philosophy, a writer prone to shocking, taking anarchist and libertarian positions, proudly calls himself a populist, through whose efforts philosophy in France and other countries becomes part of mass culture. In the first volume of “Cosmos” of the three-volume “Concise Encyclopedia of the World” by Onfre , comprehending the ideas of ancient, medieval and modern thinkers, as well as generalizing his practical experience of knowing the world, presents his picture of the world - “Materialistic Ontology”, which, according to him, has nothing in common with existing philosophical movements. Instead of rational and transcendental philosophy, Onfre proposes the practical idea of hedonism - joy and pleasure from life, knowledge, culture, and the surrounding world.