Occasionalism
Journal Data
| Type | SOURCE_BOOK |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (GB) |
| ISBN-13 | 9780198250081 |
| Open Library | OL15928040W |
| Total publications | 5 |
| Coverage period | 2010 - 2011 |
| Language | EN |
Abstract This book is a collection of essays on the problem of causation in seventeenth-century philosophy. Occasionalism is the doctrine, held by a number of early modern Cartesian thinkers, that created substances are devoid of any true causal powers, and that God is the only real causal agent in the universe. All natural phenomena have God as their direct and immediate cause, with natural things and their states serving only as “occasions” for God to act. Rather than being merely an ad hoc, deus ex machina response to the mind-body problem bequeathed by Descartes to his followers (especially Malebranche, Cordemoy, and La Forge), as it has often been portrayed in the past, occasionalism is in fact a full-blooded, complex, and philosophically interesting account of causal relations. These essays examine the philosophical, scientific, theological, and religious themes and arguments of occasionalism, as well as its roots in medieval views on God and causality.
Occasionalism
Occasionalism
This book is a collection of essays on the problem of causation in seventeenth-century philosophy. Occasionalism is the doctrine, held by a number of early modern Cartesian thinkers, that created substances are devoid of any true causal powers, and that God is the only real causal agent in the universe. All natural phenomena have God as their direct and immediate cause, with natural things and their states serving only as “occasions” for God to a…
Occasionalism and General Will in Malebranche
This chapter is an examination of the details of Malebranche’s account of divine activity in his occasionalism, and in particular his notion of divine general volitions. Contrary to a reading first offered by Arnauld in his correspondence with Leibniz, according to which Malebranche’s God acts by way of volitions with general content (or laws), this chapter argues that Malebranche’s God acts constantly and ubiquitously in nature by way of volitio…
Louis de la Forge and the Development of Occasionalism
The Occasionalism of Louis de la Forge
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Occasionalism
This book is a collection of essays on the problem of causation in seventeenth-century philosophy. Occasionalism is the doctrine, held by a number of early modern Cartesian thinkers, that created substances are devoid of any true causal powers, and that God is the only real causal agent in the universe. All natural phenomena have God as their direct and immediate cause, with natural things and their states serving only as “occasions” for God to a…
Occasionalism and General Will in Malebranche
This chapter is an examination of the details of Malebranche’s account of divine activity in his occasionalism, and in particular his notion of divine general volitions. Contrary to a reading first offered by Arnauld in his correspondence with Leibniz, according to which Malebranche’s God acts by way of volitions with general content (or laws), this chapter argues that Malebranche’s God acts constantly and ubiquitously in nature by way of volitio…
Louis de la Forge and the Development of Occasionalism
The Occasionalism of Louis de la Forge
Occasionalism