Geulincx, Arnold

Geulincx, Arnold (gö`lĭngks), 1624–69, Flemish Cartesian philosopher, b. Antwerp. One of the founders of occasionalism, his philosophy is characterized by a curious blending of rationalism and mysticism. Arguing that God is the sole active power, he denied any real interaction between finite things, which serve merely as "occasional causes." He explained the relationship between mind and body by the analogy of two clocks that are synchronized by God at each instant. Although there is no interaction, there is a continual harmony between them. His principal works, which appeared posthumously, were Ethica (1675) and Metaphysica vera (1691).

Bibliography

See H. J. de Vleeschauwer, Three Centuries of Geulincx Research (1957).

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Geulincx, Arnold

 known as Philaretus

(born Jan. 31, 1624, Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands—died November 1669, Leiden, Neth.) Flemish metaphysician and logician. He taught at the University of Louvain from 1646 but was dismissed in 1658, probably because of his sympathy with Jansenism. He took refuge at Leiden, where he became a Calvinist. He lived in poverty until 1662, when he obtained a position at the University of Leiden. He was a major exponent of the doctrine known as occasionalism. His major works include On Virtue (1665), Know Thyself (1675), and True Metaphysics (1691).

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Geulincx, Arnold 

Born Jan. 31, 1624, in Antwerp; died 1669 in Leiden. Dutch idealist philosopher. Professor of philosophy at the universities of Lou vain (1646-58) and Leiden (beginning in 1665).

The problems studied in Geulincx’s philosophy were formulated under the influence of R. Descartes. As one of the main representatives of occasionalism, Geulincx showed that interaction of soul and body was not possible, comparing them to two clocks whose motion was originally coordinated by god (later, G. W. Leibniz used this example for the theory of pre-established harmony).

WORKS

Gno‘tti se auton sive Ethica. [n. p.] 1675.
Physica vera. [n. p.] 1688.
Metaphysica vera .… Amsterdam, 1691.
Opera philosophica, vols 1-3. [n. p.] 1891-93.

REFERENCES

Istoriia filosofii, vol. I, Moscow, 1957. Pages 406-08.
Vleeschauwer, H. J. de. Three Centuries of Geulincx Research: A Bibliographical Survey. Pretoria, 1957.
Lattre, A. de. L’occasionalisme d’A. Geulincx. Paris, 1967.

V. V. SOKOLOV