Arnold Geulincx (1624-1669) was a Flemish Cartesian philosopher who was one of the proponents of occasionalism.
Originally a Roman Catholic, Geulincx adopted Calvinism in 1658. He taught at Leuven and later at Leiden. His major works, “Ethica” and “Metaphysica Vera”, were published posthumously.
According to Geulincx, body and mind cannot affect each other. A person's intention to move his body is merely the occasion on which God, the only real cause, produces the movement.
Since minds cannot affect bodies, people cannot control their actions; they can only control their wills. Accordingly, Geulincx's ethics stresses a humbling of the will.