Descartes' Causal Principle and the Case of Body-to-Mind Causation1

It is a common view that Descartes' causal principle is to be understood in light of a similarity condition that accounts for how finite causes (as opposed, or in addition, to God) contribute to an explanation of their effects. This paper challenges this common view and offers a sui generis rea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCanadian journal of philosophy Vol. 43; no. 4; pp. 438 - 459
Main Author De Rosa, Raffaella
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Edmonton Routledge 04.07.2013
Cambridge University Press
Subjects
Body-to-Mind Causation
Causal Principle
Causality
Causation
Descartes
Descartes, Rene (1596-1650)
God
Philosophers
Philosophy
Sensory Ideas
Similarity Condition
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Summary:It is a common view that Descartes' causal principle is to be understood in light of a similarity condition that accounts for how finite causes (as opposed, or in addition, to God) contribute to an explanation of their effects. This paper challenges this common view and offers a sui generis reading of Descartes' views on causation that has also the advantage of solving the two exegetical issues of whether Descartes thought of the body-to-mind relation in occasionalist or causal terms and of whether Descartes regarded sensory ideas innate or caused by bodies.
ISSN:0045-5091
1911-0820
DOI:10.1080/00455091.2013.847347