DEVELOPMENT OF THE ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT IN THE THEODICE OF NICOLAS MALEBRANCHE
Keywords:
God, Ideas, ontology, Moral Philosophy, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Theosophy, Theodicy, Natural Theology, transcendence, Truth, contemplation.Abstract
This article examines the conceptual understanding of the proof for the existence of God in Nicolas Malebranche. The development of the ontological argument to which the French thinker Malbransche contributed, is attributed to St. Anselm, and concerns the verification of the justification of God's existence, For his justification, Malbransche borrowed a lot from St. Augustine, St. Anselm and Descartes. In the latter, the anthropological proof of God's existence took on mathematical features: the reconciliation of God's existence with the geometric proof. Purely for epistemological reasons, Descartes chose the idea of God, which is in the human mind, as his starting point, and not the idea of the self-existent Being - God. In Malbransche, on the other hand, the proof is characterized by contemplative power, so it is truly mystical and ontological. This clearly expresses the religious-intuitive type of thinking. Here in the first place is God, not man, the authenticity of the knowledge of God, and only then – the self-knowledge of man. Malbransche's doctrine of the image and likeness of God is explained by a purely philosophical method. It is necessary for the philosopher to demonstrate the mystical union of the soul with God, which comes to the fore, because it is more important than the union of the soul with the corporeal substance. With this conclusion, Malbransche can justify the purpose of creating spiritual substances – to love God and know Him, because it is impossible to understand how God could create a spirit apart from this connection. This goal cannot be only union with the corporeal substance, determining its body shape, as explained by Aristotle or other pagan philosophers. From more religious than metaphysical beliefs, Malbransche was aware of the real possibility of the union of the soul with God. The article interprets the proofs for God’s existence, and differences in theodicy between the positions of Malebranche and Anselm are compared. Тhe concept of God in the philosophy of Malebranche is arrived at by exploring the nature of relations between the transcendent sphere of God and the spiritual world of the human person., The role of the book «The Search for Truth» by Malebranche is highlighted from the point of view of historiography.
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