Samuel Clarke on Agent Causation, Voluntarism, and Occasionalism

Sangiacomo, Andrea

doi:10.1017/s0269889718000340

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…To what extent this is a genuine form of occasionalism falls outside the scope of this paper. For Clarke's relation to occasionalism, see Sangiacomo (2018).…”

Section: Will and Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Was Clarke a Voluntarist?

Wolf

2022

Journal of Modern Philosophy

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The distinction between voluntarism and intellectualism has recently been criticized for inaccurately characterising early modern theories of divine freedom. In response, defenders of the distinction have argued that these labels are needed in order to account for the famous correspondence between Leibniz (intellectualist) and Clarke (voluntarist). In this paper, I argue that the voluntarism/intellectualism distinction is unable to account for the opposition between Leibniz and Clarke. In the first part, I provide an analysis of Clarke's theory of divine freedom, and show how he employs the distinction between activity and passivity in order to account for the separation between God's will and intellect, which ultimately safeguards God's freedom. I also analyse Clarke's correspondence with Leibniz, and show how Clarke deals with choice among equals, the principle of sufficient reason, and the principle of the best. In the second part, I argue on the basis of this analysis that Clarke is not a voluntarist, but should instead be interpreted as an intellectualist (if one wants to keep the labels). Therefore, the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence cannot be explained as a clash between voluntarism and intellectualism.

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“…To what extent this is a genuine form of occasionalism falls outside the scope of this paper. For Clarke's relation to occasionalism, see Sangiacomo (2018).…”

Section: Will and Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Harrison's claims soon led to a debate between him and John Henry (a defender of the voluntarism thesis). This debate is still ongoing, with recent contributions by Henry, Mcguire, Oakley and Sangiacomo (Oakley 2019;Henry and McGuire 2018;Sangiacomo 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Was Clarke a Voluntarist?

Wolf

2022

Journal of Modern Philosophy

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“…It can be seen just how far from being an occasionalist Newton was by comparing him with his close friend Samuel Clarke. Clarke has recently been convincingly revealed to be a "partial occasionalist" who believed that gravitational effects could only be brought about by the direct intervention of God, or by angels delegated by him (Sangiacomo 2018). In order to convince his readers that the direct intervention of God is required to make an apple fall to the ground, or to keep Saturn in its orbit, Clarke has to first demonstrate (at least to his own satisfaction) that material bodies are categorically passive and inert, and that not even God can endow bodies with active powers, such as the power of attraction.…”

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confidence: 99%

Newton, the sensorium of God, and the cause of gravity

Henry

2020

Sci Context

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ArgumentIt is argued that the sensorium of God was introduced into the Quaestiones added to the end of Newton’s Optice (1706) as a way of answering objections that Newton had failed to provide a causal account of gravity in the Principia. The discussion of God’s sensorium indicated that gravity must be caused by God’s will. Newton did not leave it there, however, but went on to show how God’s will created active principles as secondary causes of gravity. There was nothing unusual in assuming that God, acting as the First Cause, operated in nature by means of secondary causes; but it was unusual to devote as much time to discussing God’s precise role as to discussing the secondary causes themselves. It is contended that Newton felt the need to do this to persuade readers that what might seem like a second cause that could not possibly work could be made to work by the omnipotent God.

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“…Mechanism does not inevitably lead to occasionalism: Pierre-Sylvain Régis (1632-1707) adopts mechanism but his causal theory looks very much like concurrentism rather than occasionalism (Ott 2008a). Samuel Clarke (1675-1729 endorses (partial) occasionalism, but he does not commit himself to mechanism (Sangiacomo 2018c). Occasionalism, finally, does not require introducing final causes into natural philosophy.…”

Section: Occasionalism Final Causes and Life In The Natural Philosoph...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…162 Leibniz's critique of occasionalism has been sketched in the introduction to this dissertation. dissertation); and Samuel Clarke (1675-1729 accepts occasionalism and teleology (Sangiacomo 2018c). No thinker has been identified by academic scholarship who adopts all three features, that is, mechanism, occasionalism and final causes.…”

Section: Occasionalism Final Causes and Life In The Natural Philosoph...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Grounding the World

Henkel¹

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INTRODUCTION 1) General Remarks 9 2) Incipit Historia. Leibniz and Occasionalism 3) Status quaestionis -A Meta-Historical and Meta-Philosophical Map 3.1) The History of Historical-Philosophical Research on Occasionalism 3.2) Conceptual Tools 4) My Contribution to Current Research 5) Methodological Considerations 6) Structure of the Dissertation CHAPTER 1 The Natural Place of Géraud de Cordemoy's Occasionalism. A Project of Deconstruction and Reconstruction Introduction 1) Deconstruction 1.1) From the State to the Individual 1.2) Body and Matter: the Realm of Physics 2) Reconstruction 2.1) The Realm of Matter and Body-Body Occasionalism 2.2) Ecce Homo and Mind-Body Occasionalism 2.3) Language, Society and the State 3) The Threat of Eliminativism 3.1) The Problem 3.2) The Solution 3.3) Conclusion 4) The Political Dimension of Cordemoy's Project 4.1) Dreaming of an Ideal State 4.2) Supporting the Absolutism of Louis XIV 5) Conclusion CHAPTER 2 Occasionalism, Final Causes, and Life in the Natural Philosophy of

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Samuel Clarke on Agent Causation, Voluntarism, and Occasionalism

Cited by 12 publications

References 60 publications

Was Clarke a Voluntarist?

Was Clarke a Voluntarist?

Newton, the sensorium of God, and the cause of gravity

Grounding the World

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