Malebranche on Optics and Visual Perception

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ID: 322118
2026
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Abstract
Abstract Nicolas Malebranche developed an original theory of vision that combines optical analysis with the metaphysical thesis that external bodies are not perceived directly but only through their ideas in an “intelligible extension.” This doctrine of “vision in God” distinguishes looking, a bodily act, from seeing, a spiritual activity in which the mind perceives intelligible objects in God. Malebranche defends this view through two series of optico-philosophical arguments. The first critiques sensory realism, arguing that colors and light are neither intrinsic properties of bodies nor reliable signs of their physical features. The second examines the implicit inferences involved in spatial perception, ultimately describing “natural judgements” as composite sensations produced by God according to general laws. Though grounded in divine action, this account anticipates modern cognitive models of visual processing.
Reference Key
openalex_W7170077402 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Philippe Hamou
Journal Oxford University Press eBooks
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190279677.013.0014
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190279677.013.0014
Keywords Keywords not found

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