The Infinite in Malebranche: Between Metaphysics and Mathematics

If in Descartes infinity has no connection to the nature and to the mechanism of knowledge, Malebranche, while retaining the theological and metaphysical reality of infinity, attributes thereto an epistemological function to the extent that he understands infinity as a sphere in which the mind grasps ideas, and an epistemic and regulatory direction is provided to guide the pursuit of knowledge. In this regard, Malebranche stresses the links that exist between said metaphysical infinity and the variety of “infinities” that emerges in the various sciences. In light of this emphasis, the paper proposes to examine the Malebranchian concept of infinity in its ontological and epistemological meaning, with a particular focus on how this concept is thematized in the metaphysical and mathematical sense.