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Nicolas Malebranche Books

Philosopher

Nicolas Malebranche (1638-1715) was a prominent French philosopher of the 17th century, known as one of the key figures in the development of rationalist philosophy. His thoughts have had a profound impact on subsequent philosophical thought.

Dialogues on Metaphysics

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Philosophical Selections: From The Sear...

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“I am not my own light unto myself.”

Light My Own

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“I am unable, when I turn to myself, to recognize any of my faculties or my capacities. The inner sensation which I have of myself informs me that I am, that I think, that I will, that I have sensory awareness, that I suffer, and so on; but it provides me with no knowledge whatever of what I am - of the nature of my thought, my sensations, my passions, or my pain - or the mutual relations that obtain between all these things ... I have no idea whatever of my soul.”

Thinking Ideas Soul Pain Suffering Turns Passion Awareness Capacity Relation My Soul No Idea Mutual Faculty Sensations My Thoughts My Passion Sensory

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“When I touch a human hand, I touch heaven.”

Humans Hands Humanity Heaven Human Hands

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“We are rational creatures: Our virtue and perfection is to love reason, or rather to love order.”

Reason Order Virtue Creatures Perfection Rational

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to create.”

Needs Mind Art Ideas Light Motivational Eye Order Temporary Defeat

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“I do not believe there is anything useful which men can know with exactitude that they cannot know by arithmetic and algebra.”

Knows Men Believe Science Knowledge Arithmetic Algebra Exactitude

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“One should assiduously pursue perfection without ever claiming to attain it.”

Should Perfection Pursue

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“Attentiveness is the natural prayer of the Soul.”

Soul Natural Prayer Attention Attentiveness

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“I love good and pleasure, I hate evil and pain, I want to be happy and I am not mistaken in believing, that people, angels and even demons have those same inclinations.”

People Want Believe Pain Hate Evil Pleasure Angel I Hate Demon Mistaken Inclination Want To Be Happy I Want To Be Happy

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“You find yourself in the world, without any power, immovable as a rock, stupid, so to speak, as a log of wood.”

World Speak Rocks Stupid Woods Finding Yourself

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“Do not fear lest you should meditate too much upon Him and speak of Him in an unworthy way, providing you are led by faith. Do not fear lest you should entertain false opinions of Him so long as they are in conformity with the notion of the infinitely perfect Being.”

Way Should Long Speak Perfect Opinion Too Much Notion Conformity Providing Unworthy Do Not Fear

Book:Dialogues on Metaphysics

Source: Dialogues on Metaphysics

“As our bodies live upon the earth and find sustenance in the fruits which it produces, so our minds feed on the same truths as the intelligible and immutable substance of the divine Word contains.”

Mind Body Earth Produce Divine Fruit Substance Sustenance

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“I beg of you always to dwell upon the necessity of a thorough understanding of principles, in order to stop the vivacity of his mind, and please do not forget to meditate upon the subject of our discussion.”

Mind Order House Understanding Forget Principles Subjects Please Discussion Thorough Vivacity Thorough Understanding

Book:Dialogues on Metaphysics

Source: Dialogues on Metaphysics

“All creatures are united to God alone in an immediate union. They depend essentially and directly upon Him. Being all alike equally impotent, they cannot be in reciprocal dependence upon one another.”

United Depends Creatures Unions Dependence Reciprocal

Book:Dialogues on Metaphysics

Source: Dialogues on Metaphysics

“You cannot of yourself move your arm or alter your position, situation, posture, do to other men good or evil, or effect the least change in the world.”

Men World Hands Moving Evil Situation Effects Position Arms Posture

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“You will not dishonor the divine perfections by judgments unworthy of them, provided you never judge of Him by yourself, provided you do not ascribe to the Creator the imperfections and limitations of created beings.”

Divine Judging Judgment Perfection Creator Limitation Imperfection Unworthy Dishonor

Book:Dialogues on Metaphysics

Source: Dialogues on Metaphysics

“God transforms, so to speak, this air into words, into various sounds. He makes you understand these various sounds through the modifications by which you are affected.”

Speak Sound Air Various Affected Modification

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“Imagination is the mad boarder.”

Imagination Mad

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“We can always make ourselves liked provided we act likable, but we cannot always make ourselves esteemed, no matter what our merits are.”

Matter Respect No Matter What Merit

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“God joins us together by means of the body, in consequence of the laws of the communication of movements. He affects us with the same feelings in consequence of the laws of the conjunction of body and soul.”

Mean Soul Feelings Body Together Law Movement Communication Consequence Conjunctions

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“He has willed - He wills incessantly - that the modifications of the mind and those of the body shall be reciprocal. This is the conjunction and the natural dependence of the two parts of which we are constituted.”

Mind Two Body Natural Dependence Incessantly Reciprocal Modification Conjunctions

Book:Dialogues on Metaphysics

Source: Dialogues on Metaphysics

“Our soul is not united to our body in the ordinary sense of these terms. It is immediately and directly united to God alone.”

Soul Body Term United Ordinary

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

“Prejudices are not easily got rid of as an old coat which is no longer thought of.”

Prejudice Coats

Book:Dialogues on Metaphysics

Source: Dialogues on Metaphysics

“We are made to know and love God.”

Knows Made And Love God Love

Book:Philosophical Selections: From The Search After Truth, Translated by Thomas M. Lennon and Paul J. Olscamp ; from Elucidations of The Search After Truth, Translated by Thomas M. Lennon ; from Dialogues on Metaphysics, Translated by Willis Doney ; and from Treatise on Nature and Grace, Translated by Thomas Tylor, Revised by Steven Nadler

Source: Philosophical Selections: From The Search After Truth, Translated by Thomas M. Lennon and Paul J. Olscamp ; from Elucidations of The Search After Truth, Translated by Thomas M. Lennon ; from Dialogues on Metaphysics, Translated by Willis Doney ; and from Treatise on Nature and Grace, Translated by Thomas Tylor, Revised by Steven Nadler

“We see things in this material world, wherein our bodies dwell, only because our mind through its attention lives in another world, only because it contemplates the beauties of the archetypal and intelligible world which Reason contains.”

World Mind Reason Body Attention Materials Contemplating Another World Material World

Author:Nicolas Malebranche

About the Author

Born: August 6, 1638
Died: October 13, 1715
Known for: Philosopher
Quotes: 25

Books & Sources

Dialogues on MetaphysicsRelated source material

Philosophical Selections: From The Search After Truth, Translated by Thomas M. Lennon and Paul J. Olscamp ; from Elucidations of The Search After Truth, Translated by Thomas M. Lennon ; from Dialogues on Metaphysics, Translated by Willis Doney ; and from Treatise on Nature and Grace, Translated by Thomas Tylor, Revised by Steven NadlerRelated source material

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