Abstract

Gerauld de Cordemoy, along with Arnold Geulinx, is a leading forerunner of occasional cause notion. The focal point of this article is the philosopher's views on occasionalism. The solution to this problem is included in his major philosophical work, titled Le discernement du corps et de l'âme en six discours, pour servir à l'éclaircissement de la physique, 1666 [Discrimination between body and soul…]. According to him the capability to move cannot be attributed to body. The philosopher introduced inability to transfer movement from one body to another. Gerauld de Cordemoy considers God to be the fundamental purpose of movement. The article includes a philosopher's combination of Cartesian theory and atomism that he professed. He additionally proposed a definition of matter and body, alternative to the Cartesian one. The following written work elaborates on the role of a scholar in the clarification process of occasionalism, from Descrates to Malebranche.