Considerazioni sul progetto della science de l’homme nella Recherche de la vérité di Nicolas Malebranche

The Malebranchean project on science of man intends to investigate the mind in itself, the mind-body relationship, the relationship between the mind and God. The science of man is a special knowledge which takes its place between evidence and likelihood, metaphysics and experience. The science of man needs a large knowledge and in particular it concerns the basic structure of mind and the nature of body. According to Malebranche these enquiries are good if we consider the theological and historical background of man: man is placed between the primary perfection of Adam and his own perfect condition in the celestial Jerusalem. In short, we can understand the structure of the mind and the mind-body relationship, therefore the perceptions and affections mechanism, only in light of the historical background of the degenerate state of mankind. In other words, the possibility of a science of man consists of its capacity to deal with the psychological and empirical data without clinging to them