Wandering into Régis’s Système: Some Remarks on his Theory of Causation and the Mind/Body Union

If we consider the evolution of Régis’s philosophy, we notice that he follows a similar pattern in both his theory of causation and his theory of ideas. In the first case, he starts as a follower of occasional causes and ends up reclaiming an Aristotelian-like efficient causality. In the second, we observe a progressive embodiment of the mind, which culminates in the rehabilitation of Aristotelian gnoseology. Within these developments, we can spot tendencies that Régis shared with some of his contemporaries: he gradually diverges from Malebranche’s views, as does Arnauld; he rejects pure mind and intellect, as do the materialist interpretations of Malebranche circulating in the early eighteenth century. However, it should be pointed out that the variety of literary forms chosen by Régis make our attempts to trace the evolution of his philosophy far from straightforward: while the Usage is a treatise in which the author’s personal views are squarely in the spotlight, the Système is a textbook; and like any other textbook, this is one in which the author’s voice is intertwined with those of many others.