This study deals with the natural philosophy of Nicolas Malebranche (1638-1715) and his future. It shows the existence of principles, laws and explanatory methods common to Malebranche and to writings of the 18th century. More specifically, this legacy is manifested by reflections on physical causality, a rejection of the concept of the force of inertia, and an interpretation of physico-chemical phenomena using the theory of small vortices. Malebranche was then at the origin of one of the forms taken by mechanical philosophy, the essential characteristics of which this book establishes.

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The book is published by Classiques GARNIER
Researcher: Christophe.Schmit@obspm.fr