Nicholas Westberg

I earned a BA in philosophy at Wheaton College (IL) and a PhD in philosophy from Boston College (MA). I primarily research early modern and scholastic metaphysics, with a special focus on causality and ontology.

Abstract: I am conducting research for a monograph project which provides a new account of Descartes’ metaphysical commitments regarding  causation in body-body interaction. This project proceeds on two parallel tracks. The first is constructive. I offer a systematic account of causality in Cartesian physics, arguing that Descartes is committed to a strong form of occasionalism—i.e., the thesis that God’s action is the sole efficient cause of material change. My account clarifies Descartes’ views about the conditions for causation, the nature of divine action, and the status of the laws of nature. The second track is critical. A number of alternative accounts of these matters have grown in popularity among scholars, which broadly maintain that there are additional efficient causes in Cartesian physics which possess causal properties and are agents of change. I show that these readings fail, as they cannot satisfy the conditions for genuine causal import, given Descartes’ broader commitments.

My research at the History of Philosophy Forum at Notre Dame will focus on one essential contextual aspect of my project. Most scholars recognize that Descartes adopts a lot of scholastic terminology in developing his metaphysics and physics. This is especially true in his analyses of causality, where he frequently discusses efficient causation, the creation, conservation, and concurrence of God, as well as the distinction between primary and secondary causes. My research aims to show that, contrary to recent claims in the literature, Descartes uses much of this terminology in significantly altered ways as suited his mechanical approach to physics.