Occasionalism: what is it and what does this philosophical current propose?

This philosophical proposal resorts to the figure of God to explain the link between mind and body.

Occasionalism is one of the philosophical currents that understand the body and the mind as separate entities.. That is, it is a dualistic perspective that questions the possibility that body and mind are equally constitutive elements of the human being.

In this article we explain in an introductory way what dualism is, and what the perspective we call occasionalism is all about.

• Related article, "How are psychology and philosophy similar?"

Descartes' dualistic thought

Dualism is a philosophical position that starts from the idea that the mind and the body are two separate entities. In other words, that the mind does not feel, just as the body does not think. Descartes came to doubt everything but his ability to think.Thus, what the body felt remained in the background.

René Descartes is generally recognized as the greatest exponent of modern dualism, since he was the first philosopher to oppose the reality of the mind with that of the body (that of the brain).

For him, the mind exists independently of the body, and thus has a substance of its own.and thus has a substance of its own. This substance, in the religious-scientific context of Descartes, can be of three types: interactionist (which allows mental processes to have effects on the body); parallelist (mental causes only have mental effects that are passed off as physical, but are not); and finally a substance of occasionalist type, which we will explain below.

Occasionalism: an explanation of causation

For Descartes, the occasionalist substance is the one that does not allow interaction between the material and the immaterial ground. The relationship between these is impossible, because there is an external entity that makes the events that we understand as "cause-effect" occur. the events that we understand as "cause-effect" to occur.. This entity is God, and it is only through his intervention that mind and body can be connected.

Thus, occasionalism is a philosophical stance that, in addition to establishing that the mind and body are separate, also establishes that nothing that we perceive as a "cause-effect" relationship is actually linked to a cause outside of God. is really linked to a cause outside of God..

Causes are nothing other than the occasion for God to produce certain facts, which we have called "effects". For example, in a relationship A->B; event A is not a cause, but it is the occasion for God to produce fact B, which is what we experience and translate as "the effect".

What we know as "cause" is only apparent, it is always occasional (i.e., it depends on the concrete opportunity). In turn, the event we perceive as effect, is the result of God's decision. Thus, the true cause is always hidden from our knowledge. As it is given beforehand by God, and by the occasion that God is presented with; we, human beings, cannot know it, we can simply experience it, in the form of effect.

But, remembering that God, mind and knowledge at this time were closely related, what this means is that, for occasionalism, our mental processes, beliefs, thoughts, intentions, do not generate attitudes, emotions or behaviors; rather, the congruence between these processes is facilitated by a divine entity.

This divine entity cannot be fully known by human beings.The soul, has vision and will of its own, and from there it moves all material things.

Nicolas Malebranche, key author

The French philosopher Nicolas Malebranche is one of the greatest exponents of occasionalism. He lived between 1628 and 1715 and is recognized as one of the representative intellectuals of the one of the representative intellectuals of the Enlightenment..

Initially, Malebranche followed the dualistic postulates of Descartes' rationalism, which were being developed in a century where reason was closely combined with religious beliefs. Science, philosophy and Christianity were not completely separated from each other, as they are now.

Within his postulates, Malebranche tried to reconcile the thoughts of Descartes attempted to reconcile the thoughts of Descartes with those of St. Augustine, and in this way to demonstrate that science, philosophy and Christianity were not completely separated from each other, as they are today.and thus demonstrate that the active role of God in all aspects of the world could be demonstrated by means of the doctrine we call "Occasionalism".

Although he tried to distance himself from Descartes' proposals, there are several contemporary philosophers who consider that he should be considered within the same tradition, as well as together with Spinoza and Leibniz. However, other authors consider Malebranche's thought to be more radical than that of Descartes. The latter considered that at some point, body and soul were connected, and this point was the pineal gland.

Malebranche considered, on the other hand, that body and soul are completely independent entities, and that if there is a connection between the two, it is because there is a divine entity in between that makes it possible. Thus, God is the cause of everything that happens in "reality".... Causes are occasions for God, God is the only cause, and it is through this that human beings know the world.

In other words, for Malebranche, the only true cause of everything that exists is God, with which, everything that we perceive as "effect of something", is nothing more than a moment or opportunity of God to provoke or to achieve that something.

Bibliographical references:

• The Basics of Philosophy (2018). Philosophy of mind. Retrieved May 27, 2018. Available at https://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_malebranche.html