The Review of Metaphysics, June 1st, 1997
Descartes' conception of formal causality helps to explain his account of the relation between mind and body. Descartes holds that the relations between mind and body are governed by natural laws, which he regards as relations of formal causality. Although Descartes resists using the terminology of formal causation because of his rejection of scholasticism, causal relations in Descartes can be understood as formal causes. Descartes discusses the distinction between formal and efficient causation in his correspondence with Arnauld.
In the Third Meditation, Descartes suggests that God, and only...
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