Occasionalism: what is and what is proposed by this philosophical current

April 5, 2024

Occasionalism is one of the philosophical currents that understand the body and mind as separate entities . That is, it is a dualist 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 is the perspective that we call occasionalism.

Related article: "How are Psychology and Philosophy alike?"

The dualistic thinking of Descartes

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 , with which, what the body felt was 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 , with which, it has a substance of its own. This substance, in the religious-scientific context of Descartes, can be of three types: interactionist (the one that allows mental processes to have effects on the body); parallelist (mental causes only have mental effects that pass themselves off as physical, but they are not); and finally an occasional type substance, which we will explain next.

Related article: "Dualism in Psychology"

Occasionalism: an explanation of causality

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

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

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

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

But, remembering that God, mind and knowledge in this era 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.

To this divine entity human beings can not know it at all , has vision and will of its own, and from there 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 the representative intellectuals of the illustration .

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

Within its postulates, Malebranche he tried to reconcile the thoughts of Descartes with those of San Agustín , and in this way demonstrate that the active role of God in all aspects of the world could be demonstrated by the doctrine that we call "Occasionalism".

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

Malebranche considered, however, 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 that makes it possible. A) Yes, God is the cause of everything that happens in "reality" . Causes are occasions for God, God is the only cause, and through this is how human beings know the world.

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