Journal of the History of Philosophy

Nicolas Malebranche holds that God can act in two ways: by general volitions or by particular volitions. Malebranche is clear that general volitions are acts of God in accordance with the laws of nature or laws of grace, and always have a secondary cause that occasions the event. He is much less direct about how, exactly, to understand particular volitions and when, if ever, they occur. In this paper, we examine the nature and possibility of divine particular actions in Malebranche’s system by way of an analysis of his discussions of creation, original sin, and the Incarnation of Christ.