Anton Szandor LaVey (11 April 1930 – 29 October 1997) was the founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan, and author of The Satanic Bible. He is the founder of Philosophical Satanism and LaVeyan Satanism, for which he claimed no supernatural “inspiration”, but rather synthesized his understanding of human nature and the insights of philosophers who advocated materialism and individualism. LaVey viewed "Satan" not as a literal deity or entity, but as a historic and literary figure symbolic of Earthly values.