Arnold Geulincx
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Arnold Geulincx (; 31 January 1624 – November 1669), also known by his pseudonym Philaretus, was a
Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
, metaphysician, and logician. He was one of the followers of
René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...
who tried to work out more detailed versions of a generally Cartesian philosophy.
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...
cited Geulincx as a key influence and interlocutor because of Geulincx's emphasis on the powerlessness and ignorance of the
human condition The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed f ...
.


Life

Geulincx was born in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
. He studied philosophy and
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
at the University of Leuven and was made professor of philosophy there in 1646. He lost his post in 1658, possibly for religious reasons, or (as has been suggested) a combination of unpopular views and his marriage in that year. In September 1658, Geulincx became a
medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, mai ...
. He then moved north to the
University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
and converted to
Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
. Initially he gave private lessons in philosophy. He was appointed reader in
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...
there in 1662 and professor by special appointment in 1665. Until 1662, Geulincx lived in
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse
. He died in
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...
in November 1669, leaving most of his works, all written in Latin, to be published after his death. They were edited by Cornelis Bontekoe.


Reputation

Despite Geulincx's thesis that God cannot act without an instrumentality of variety, he was strongly attacked in the early eighteenth century, for example, by Ruardus Andala and Carolus Tuinman, as a Spinozist. This criticism had originated from
Christian Thomasius Christian Thomasius (1 January 1655 – 23 September 1728) was a German jurist and philosopher. Biography He was born in Leipzig and was educated by his father, Jakob Thomasius (1622–1684), at that time a junior lecturer in Leipzig Univers ...
in 1710. The attack from Andala was on behalf of the "true" Cartesians, classing Geulincx as pernicious, with Burchardus de Volder, Jean LeClerc, Frederik van Leenhof, Pontiaan van Hattem and Willem Deurhoff. Geulincx was also attacked by the Pietist
Joachim Lange Johann Joachim Lange (26 October 1670 – 7 May 1744) was a German Protestant theologian and philosopher. Lange was born in Gardelegen and educated in Leipzig, Erfurt and Halle. He was influenced by Christian Thomasius and the pietist Augu ...
, as part of a campaign against Christian Wolff; and regarded with
Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his '' Histori ...
as insidiously anti-Christian by
Johann Franz Buddeus Johann Franz Buddeus or Budde (sometimes Johannes Franciscus Buddeus; 25 June 1667, Anklam – 19 November 1729, Gotha) was a German Lutheran theologian and philosopher. Life Johann Franz Buddeus was a descendant of the French scholar Guill ...
.


Philosophy

Geulincx summarized his philosophy in the phrase "" ("it exists, therefore it is so"). He believed in a "pre-established harmony" as a solution to the
mind–body problem The mind–body problem is a philosophical debate concerning the relationship between thought and consciousness in the human mind, and the brain as part of the physical body. The debate goes beyond addressing the mere question of how mind and bo ...
, dying 25 years before
Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ma ...
's better-remembered formulation of the idea. In Leibniz's philosophy, the doctrine of pre-established harmony was linked with optimism, the notion of this world as the "best of all possible worlds". But Geulincx made no such linkage. The occasionalism of Geulincx is ethical rather than cosmological in its inception. The first tract of his ''Ethics'' is a study of what in his terms are the
cardinal virtues The cardinal virtues are four virtues of mind and character in both classical philosophy and Christian theology. They are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. They form a virtue theory of ethics. The term ''cardinal'' comes from the ...
. Virtue according to Geulincx is the love of God and of Reason (III, 16–17; 29). The cardinal virtues are the properties of virtue which immediately flow from its very essence and have nothing to do with externals:
diligence Diligence—carefulness and persistent effort or work—is one of the seven heavenly virtues. It is indicative of a work ethic, the belief that work is good in itself. In students Bernard et al. suggest that diligence in students is defin ...
, obedience,
justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
,
humility Humility is the quality of being humble. Dictionary definitions accentuate humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. In a religious context humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity (i.e. God), and subsequent ...
(III, 17). Humility divides his view of the world into two parts: one, the understanding of our relation to the world; and the other, the concept of our relation to God. Humility consists in the knowledge of self and the forsaking of self. I find in myself nothing that is my own but to know and to will. I therefore must be conscious of all that I do, and that of which I am not conscious is not the product of my own
causality Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cau ...
. Hence the universal principle of causality if you do not know how a thing is done, then you do not do it. He also states a form of this principle in his ''Metaphysica vera''. Since, then, the movements of my body take place without my knowing how the nervous impulse passes to the muscles and there causes them to contract, I do not cause my own bodily actions. "I am therefore a mere spectator of this machine. In it I form naught and renew naught, I neither make anything here nor destroy it. Everything is the work of someone else" (III, 33). This one is the Deity who sees and knows all things. The second part of Geulincx's philosophy is connected with Occasionalism as the effect with the cause. Its guiding principle is: Where you can do nothing there also you should desire nothing (III, 222). This leads to a
mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...
and
asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
which however must not be taken too seriously for it is tempered by the obligation of caring for the body and propagating the species.


Works

All published in Latin, the works appearing in his lifetime were: * ''Quaestiones Quodlibeticae'' (1653) with later edition ''Saturnalia''; * ''Disputatio medica inauguralis de febribus'' (1658); * ''Logica fundamentis suis restituta'' (1662) * ''Methodus inveniendi argumenta'' (1663) * ''De virtute'' (1665). * ''Opera philosophica'' Edited by J. P. N. Land, The Hague, Martinum Nijhoff, 1891–1893 (3 vol.) The ''De virtute'' was the first part of the ''Ethica'', which ran to six parts when published posthumously. English editions of Geulincx's works: * ''Metaphysics'', trans. Martin Wilson, Christoffel Press, 1999. * ''Ethics'', trans. Martin Wilson, Brill, 2006.


Influence

He is cited by
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...
, whose character
Murphy Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland. Origins and variants The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac ...
remembers the "beautiful Belgo-Latin of Arnold Geulincx" and in particular the gloomy nostrum (frequently repeated by Beckett to inquisitive critics) (roughly: "Where you are worth nothing, there you should want nothing"). In the novel ''
Molloy Molloy or O'Molloy is an Irish surname, anglicised from Ó Maolmhuaidh, maolmhuadh meaning 'Proud Chieftain'. (See also Malloy.) They were part of the southern Uí Néill, the southern branch of the large tribal grouping claiming descent from Ni ...
'' (1950), Beckett's eponymous character describes himself as "I who had loved the image of old Geulincx, dead young, who left me free, on the black boat of Ulysses, to crawl towards the East, along the deck".Samuel Beckett, ''Molloy'' (London: Picador, 1979), p. 48. Geulincx is also mentioned in Beckett's short story "The End". A citation of Geulincx's method of appears in the "Third Essay" of
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
's '' Genealogy of Morals''. A quotation from his ''Ethics'' (, roughly "In this world I can do nothing outside myself") is used as the epigraph to, and in a sense the title of, A.G. Mojtabai's novel '' Mundome'' (1974).


Notes


External links


Arnold Geulincx Resource Site (archive.org)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geulincx, Arnold 1624 births 1669 deaths Belgian philosophers Philosophers of mind Old University of Leuven alumni Old University of Leuven faculty Leiden University faculty Writers from Antwerp