French philosopher Nicolas Malebranche made several contributions to the evolution of modern philosophical thought. He attempted to synthesize the work of his two role models, St. Augustine and Rene Descartes, and in the process came up with two very important works on occasionalism and Vision in God.
Malebranche was born in 1638 in Paris, France. His father, after whom he was named, was at the time the secretary to King Louis XIII. Malebranche was born with a spinal defect, which caused him great pain when he moved, and therefore he did not attend a regular school but learned his lessons through a private tutor. This defect was thought to be behind several of his later illustrations concerning God and an imperfect world. Leaving home at the age of 16, Malebranche studied philosophy at the College de la Marche and theology at the College de Sorbonne. Disenchanted with the focus on early philosophers such as Aristotle and their ideas, Malebranche left the university circles and was ordained as a priest in 1664.
The same year as his ordination, Malebranche first read works by Rene Descartes. Malebranche was reportedly incredibly passionate about encountering a philosophical method that broke with the constraints of ancient scholasticism, and went on to be influenced by Descartes into his own life work. This structure would shape not only his philosophical achievements but also his contributions in the fields of physics and mathematics.
Malebranche died in Paris in 1715; coincidentally, he had lived the span of his years within weeks of another great man of his time, Louis XIV of France. |