occasionalism

[ uh-key-zhuh-nl-iz-uhm ]

/ əˈkeɪ ʒə nlˌɪz əm /

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noun Philosophy.

a theory that there is no natural interaction between mind and matter, but that God makes mental events correspond to physical perceptions and actions.

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Origin of occasionalism

First recorded in 1835–45; occasional + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM occasionalism

oc·ca·sion·al·ist, nounoc·ca·sion·al·is·tic, adjective

Words nearby occasionalism

Occam, Occam's razor, occas., occasion, occasional, occasionalism, occasional licence, occasionally, occasional table, occasions, Occident

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use occasionalism in a sentence

This principle was prominent in the philosophy of occasionalism, and is still by no means extinct.
Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays|Bertrand Russell
Occasionalism appeared to introduce God that he might make physical matter do what it had no natural tendency to do, viz.
Theodicy|G. W. Leibniz
Occasionalism, or the doctrine that God is the immediate cause of all men's actions.
Conversion of a High Priest into a Christian Worker|Meletios Golden
Many, alarmed at the consequences which occasionalism would seem to involve, have embraced an opposite scheme.
Conversion of a High Priest into a Christian Worker|Meletios Golden

It results from the occasionalism attributed by Dewey to the thinking process.
John Dewey's logical theory|Delton Thomas Howard

British Dictionary definitions for occasionalism

occasionalism

/ (əˈkeɪʒənəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

the post-Cartesian theory that the seeming interconnection of mind and matter is effected by God

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012