Malebranche and Berkeley

Abstract This chapter lays groundwork for a reassessment of Berkeley’s relationship to Malebranche. It argues that Berkeley discovered in Malebranche’s works a paradigm of Christian philosophy, a framework for the fulfillment of his principal duty as a Christian philosopher, the duty of charity, through the advancement of the eternal interests of his readers. A comparison of Malebranche’s and Berkeley’s theologies, focusing on their views of the ramifications of the Fall for human nature, shows how the aims of their philosophical projects are deeply similar but also why they conceive of and pursue those aims very differently. The last part of the chapter reflects on implications of this analysis for an understanding of Berkeley's and Malebranche's views on the role of philosophy in the life of a Christian.