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2L'autorité d'un canon philosophique. Le cas Descartes by Delphine Antoine-Mahut (review)Journal of the History of Philosophy 62 (2): 322-323. 2024.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:L'autorité d'un canon philosophique. Le cas Descartes by Delphine Antoine-MahutFred AblondiDelphine Antoine-Mahut. L'autorité d'un canon philosophique. Le cas Descartes. Paris: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 2021. Pp. 356. Paperback, €13.00.Henri Gouhier once asked, "Après le mort de Descartes, qu'est-ce que le cartésianisme?" to which he replied, "C'est la philosophie de Descartes vue par ses disciples" (La vocation de…Read more
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43Millar on SlaveryJournal of Scottish Philosophy 7 (2): 163-175. 2009.John Millar's The Origin of the Distinction of Ranks is best known for its first chapter in which Adam Smith's favorite student traces the social status of women as it changed at various historical stages. Millar's concern is strictly with description and explanation. In the less discussed final chapter he examines the authority of a master over his servants. His treatment of slavery differs from the account of the rank of women in several notable ways, most significantly, perhaps, by including …Read more
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17On Splitting the AtomHistory of Philosophy Quarterly 40 (3): 222-236. 2023.Among the French Cartesians of the second half of the seventeenth century, Géraud de Cordemoy stands out as the most radical. He was one of the first to argue that Cartesian metaphysics imply occasionalism, and he was alone in arguing that those same metaphysical commitments lead to atomism. This paper addresses the second of these positions. Following a discussion of what is taken to be the strongest version of his argument for atomism, consideration will turn to an objection against Cordemoy, …Read more
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8Reading nature's book: Galileo and the birth of modern philosophyPeter Lang Publishing. 2016.A message from the stars -- A dispute over buoyancy -- Inertia, Empiricism, and spots on the sun -- Science and religion -- Troubles in Rome: 1615-1616 -- Mathematics and the book of nature -- Showdown -- Matter and motion.
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He has created a schism in philosophy" : the Cartesianism of Géraud de CordemoyIn Steven Nadler, Tad M. Schmaltz & Delphine Antoine-Mahut (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Descartes and Cartesianism, Oxford University Press. 2019.
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17Occasionalism: From Metaphysics to Science ed. by Matteo Favaretti Camposampiero, Mariangela Priarolo, and Emanuela ScribanoJournal of the History of Philosophy 58 (2): 404-405. 2020.This volume consists of papers originally presented at the international conference "Occasionalism: History and Problems," held in Venice in 2015; it contains twelve chapters, nine of which are in English, three in French. In their introduction, the editors describe occasionalism as a theory that was viewed by Medieval Christian philosophers as a "dangerous and treacherous" threat, only later to be "proudly asserted" in the post-Descartes era. This raises the question of to what degree this tran…Read more
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10Perception and Reality: A History from Descartes to Kant (review)Review of Metaphysics 50 (4): 928-930. 1997.John Yolton describes this collection of nine essays as "a kind of a sequel" to his 1984 book Perceptual Acquaintance from Descartes to Reid. Four of the chapters have previously appeared in print, and most can stand on their own, presuming little or no familiarity with previous chapters. Indeed, the title is somewhat misleading, for the material is not presented in chronological fashion, and there is little attention given to Leibniz and none to Spinoza--not what one would expect to find in a h…Read more
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21Bernard Lamy, Empiricism, and CartesianismHistory of European Ideas 44 (2): 149-158. 2018.ABSTRACTBernard Lamy is frequently included among the Cartesian Empiricists of the second half of the seventeenth century. He has also been described as an Augustinian who dabbled in Cartesianism. While acknowledging that there are both empiricist and Augustinian elements in his thought, I argue that it ought not be forgotten that there are central components of his philosophy that are both anti-empiricist and in opposition to Augustine. My aim in this paper, though, is not critical; I hope to s…Read more
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84Why it Matters that I’m Not Insane: The Role of the Madness Argument in Descartes’s First MeditationInternational Philosophical Quarterly 47 (1): 79-89. 2007.Descartes’s First Meditation employs a series of arguments designed to generate the worry that the senses might not provide sufficient evidence to justify one’staking as certain one’s beliefs about the way the world is. As the meditator considers what principle describes the conditions under which it is possible to attain certain knowledge, one after another doubt-generating device is ushered in, until at last he finds himself like someone caught in a whirlpool, able neither to stand firm nor to…Read more
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4Malebranche and the Cartesian Problem of the UnconsciousDissertation, Marquette University. 1995.Nicolas Malebranche is often thought of as an ardent disciple of Cartesianism. Yet he parts ways with Descartes on a number of important points, one of the most important of which concerns the question of whether mind is able to affect body. It is clear from his letters to Elisabeth that Descartes believed that minds have it within their power to move bodies; Malebranche, on the other hand, denies this, not because mind and body are separate substances--the most frequent criticism of Descartes' …Read more
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19Individual identity in Descartes and SpinozaStudia Spinozana: An International and Interdisciplinary Series 10 69-92. 1994.
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Kelly and McDowell on perceptual contentElectronic Journal of Analytic Philosophy 7. 2002.[0] In a recent issue of _EJAP_, Sean Kelly [1998] defended the position that perceptual content is non-conceptual. More specifically, he claimed that John McDowell's view that concepts involved in perception can be understood as expressible through the use of demonstratives is ultimately untenable. In what follows, I want to look more closely at Kelly's position, as well as suggest possible responses one could make on McDowell's behalf
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40James Beattie, Practical Ethics, and the Human Nature QuestionJournal of Scottish Philosophy 10 (1): 1-12. 2012.This article begins by examining James Beattie's conception of speculative ethics, which he regards as the study of the foundation and nature of virtue. This leads to a discussion of the moral sense, or conscience, which Beattie claims is part of the nature of every rational being and which is designed to lead us to a virtuous life. Given this, I ask why Beattie thought himself warranted, or even needed, to dispense practical ethical advice. Answering this involves looking at Beattie's views on …Read more
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191François lamy, occasionalism, and the mind-body problemJournal of the History of Philosophy 46 (4). 2008.There is a long-standing view that Malebranche and his fellow occasionalists accepted occasionalism to solve the problem of interaction between immaterial souls and extended bodies. Recently, however, scholars have shown this story to be a myth. Malebranche, Geulincx, La Forge, and Cordemoy adopted occasionalism for a variety of reasons, but none did so because of a need to provide a solution to a perceived mind-body problem. Yet there is one Cartesian for whom the “traditional” reading is large…Read more
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20Absolute beginners: learning philosophy by learning Descartes and Berkeley: C. G. Prado: Starting with Descartes. London & New York: Continuum, 2009. vi +170 pp, US$ 19.95 PB Nick Jones: Starting with Berkeley. London & New York: Continuum, 2009. viii +191 pp, US$ 19.95 PB (review)Metascience 19 (3): 385-389. 2010.
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43Yolton, John W. Perception and Reality: A History from Descartes to Kant (review)Review of Metaphysics 50 (4): 928-929. 1997.
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43Hutcheson, Perception, and the Sceptic's ChallengeBritish Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (2): 269-281. 2012.Francis Hutcheson's theory of perception, as put forth in his Synopsis of Metaphysics, bears a striking similarity to that of John Locke. In particular, Hutcheson and Locke both have at the centre of their theories the notion of ideas as representational entities acting as the direct objects of all of our perceptions. On first consideration, one might find this similarity wholly unremarkable, given the popularity of Locke's Essay. But the Essay was published in 1689 and the Synopsis in 1742, and…Read more
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77Causality and Human Freedom in MalebranchePhilosophy and Theology 9 (3-4): 321-331. 1996.In that it holds God to be the only true efficient cause, Malebranche’s occasionalism would seem to deny human freedom and to make God responsible for our sins. I argue that Malebranche’s occasionalism must be considered within its Cartesian framework; once one understands what it is to be an occasional cause in this context, Malebranche can be seen as saving a place for human freedom, and he can consistently hold that we are morally responsible for our actions.
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96Retroactive identity ascriptions, empty questions, and intrinsic relationsThink 7 (20): 93-96. 2008.If a statue and lump of clay have the same life-histories, are they numerically identical?
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16Knowing our nature: A note on Régis’ response to MalebrancheHistory of European Ideas 33 (2): 135-141. 2007.Nicolas Malebranche was the first Cartesian philosopher to challenge Descartes’ claim that we are capable of possessing a clear and distinct understanding of the soul's nature. Other Cartesians, including Clauberg, La Forge, and Cordemoy, accepted without question the conclusion of the Second Meditation that the nature of the soul is better known than is the nature of body. After presenting an overview of Malebranche's argument, this note turns to the Cartesian philosopher Pierre-Sylvain Régis. …Read more
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Gabriel Biel and Occasionalism: Overcoming an Apparent TensionHistory of Philosophy Quarterly 28 (2): 159. 2011.
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68Almog's DescartesPhilosophy 80 (3): 423-431. 2005.The answer which Joseph Almog gives to the question which serves as the title of his recent book What Am I? (subtitled: Descartes and the Mind-Body Problem) is based upon his interpretation of (1) and objection to Descartes' argument for the distinction of the mind and the body raised by Antoine Arnauld, as well as Descartes' response to it, and (2) Descartes' letters of 9 February 1645 to Denis Mesland. I will argue that both of these interpretations are incorrect, and as such do not support th…Read more
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31A Note on Hahn's Philosophy of LogicHistory and Philosophy of Logic 23 (1): 37-42. 2002.Hans Hahn, mathematician, philosopher and co-founder of the Vienna Circle, attempted to reconcile the validity and applicability of both logic and mathematics with a strict empiricism. This article begins with a review of this attempt, focusing on his view of the relation of language to logic and his answer to the question of why we need logic. I then turn to some recent work by Stephen Yablo in an attempt to show that Yablo's fictionalism, and in particular his use of metaphor, can shed light o…Read more
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47Malebranche’s Theory of the Soul: A Cartesian InterpretationPhilosophical Review 107 (2): 334. 1998.While there has been a resurgence in Malebranche scholarship in the anglophone world over the last twenty years, most of it has focused on Malebranche’s theory of ideas, and little attention has been paid to his philosophy of mind. Schmaltz’s book thus comes as a welcome addition to the Malebranche literature; that he has given us such a well-researched and carefully argued study is even more welcome. The focus of this work is Malebranche’s split with Descartes on the question of our knowledge o…Read more
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56Introduction: Galileo and Early Modern PhilosophyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 51 69. 2015.
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Schlick, Altruism and Psychological HedonismIndian Philosophical Quarterly 23 (3-4): 417-428. 1996.