Pierre-Sylvain Régis

In Paris, the lectures of Pierre-Sylvain Régis (1632–1707) on Cartesian physics—which he accompanied with spectacular demonstrations of physical phenomena such as optical illusions—created such a sensation that Louis XIV forbade them. Because Cartesianism challenged the traditional Aristotelian science, which was supported by the Roman Catholic Church, and because the church…

…asked how this is possible, Régis gave the standard Cartesian reply: human beings experience the interaction, and God can and does make it take place, even if we cannot understand how. As for the question of how ideas represent objects, Rohault spoke for all Cartesians when he asserted that God…