DOCSLIB.ORG

René Descartes' Quest for Indubitability

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
René Descartes' Quest for Indubitability RENÉ DESCARTES’ QUEST FOR INDUBITABILITY DOMENIC MARBANIANG Teaching Document. 2019 BACKGROUND: LIFE AND WORKS 1. He was born in La Haye en Touraine (now Descartes, Indre-et-Loire), France, on 31 March 1596 2. He was a contemporary to Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, Blaise Pascal, Isaac Newton, Baruch Spinoza, Thomas Hobbes, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and William Shakespeare. 3. He was trained in mathematics, physics, philosophy and law; and in his quest for truth, he spent much of his youth “traveling, visiting courts and armies, mixing with people of diverse temperaments and ranks, gathering various experiences” 4. He also worked in the Dutch army for a while. 5. On returning home (to La Haye), in 1623, he sold all his property to invest in bonds, which provided him a sizable income for the rest of his life. 6. From 1628, he lived and worked in Netherlands. 7. He most influential publications are Geometry, Bioptrics, and Discourse on Method (1637), Meditations on First Philosophy (1641), Principles of Philosophy (1644) 8. Descartes’ writings were condemned at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) in 1643, which forced him to flee to the Hague. 9. In 1649, he moved to Sweden on invitation of Queen Christina. 10. The next year, in 1650, he contracted pneumonia and died. THE THRESHOLD ERA OF MODERNISM 1. Francis Bacon is considered to be the “father of modern jurisprudence” and the “father of the scientific method”. 2. Galileo is considered the "father of observational astronomy", the "father of the scientific method", and the "father of modern science". 3. Isaac Newton is considered to be the “father of classical physics” and the “father of modern science” 4. René Descartes is considered to be the “father of analytical geometry”, the “father of modern Western philosophy” and the “father of continental rationalism”. Page 1 of 11 ACCORDING TO THE COLUMBIA ELECTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, 6TH ED. COPYRIGHT © 2012, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, Mathematics was his greatest interest; building upon the work of others, he originated the Cartesian coordinates and Cartesian curves; he is often said to be the founder of analytical geometry. To algebra he contributed the treatment of negative roots and the convention of exponent notation. He made numerous advances in optics, such as his study of the reflection and refraction of light. He wrote a text on physiology, and he also worked in psychology; he contended that emotion was finally physiological at base and argued that the control of the physical expression of emotion would control the emotions themselves. His chief work on psychology is in his Traité des passions de l'âme (1649). Cartesian coordinate system with a circle of radius 2 centered at the origin marked in red. The equation of a circle is (x − a)2 + (y − b)2 = r2 where a and b are the coordinates of the center (a, b) and r is the radius. (xyz used to denote variables, and abc used to denote (Wikipedia) DESCARTES’ INFLUENCE: 1. Descartes’ logical method from certitude to certitude was a break away from the scholastic Aristotelian one of empirical probabilism and influenced much of later science and philosophy. 2. His ideas revolutionized the role of mathematics in science and philosophy. 3. He formulated the cartesian coordinates, is considered the father of analytical geometry (combining geometry with algebra), and his work laid the basis for the development of calculus. 4. His formulation of scientific laws of nature, viz. that “that each thing always remains in the same state; and consequently, when it is once moved, it always continues to move” and that “all movement is, of itself, along straight lines” were later incorporated into Newton’s first law of motion. 5. Descartes’ view that all truth is interlinked through a fundamental truth such as the cogito provided a basis for the hypothesis of the uniformity of nature and its laws of operation and the progress of science. 6. Descartes’ reliance on intuition and deduction in opposition to authority and sense-experience was a break away from reliance on religious authority, tradition, and testimony. 7. Descartes’ rationalism highly accentuated the Protestant Reformation influence Page 2 of 11 towards the secularization of society and the individual’s autonomous intellectual freedom. 8. Descartes’ mind-body dualism became an integral theme of much future philosophical discussion. 9. Descartes’ “evil demon” or “evil god” hypothesis is a continuing problem in philosophy of mind and reality. 10. Descartes’ view that animals do not have souls and so do not suffer pain had a considerable impact on Western animal ethics. SOME ASSOCIATED “ISMS” ● Internalism ● Foundationalism ● Rationalism ● Intuitionism ● Methodological Skepticism ● Theological voluntarism ● Mind-body dualism DESCARTES’ QUEST FOR TRUTH AND MEANING I had always a most earnest desire to know how to distinguish the true from the false, in order that I might be able clearly to discriminate the right path in life, and proceed in it with confidence. (Discourse on the Method) DESCARTES’ DOUBTS From my childhood, I have been familiar with letters; and as I was given to believe that by their help a clear and certain knowledge of all that is useful in life might be acquired, I was ardently desirous of instruction. But as soon as I had finished the entire course of study, at the close of which it is customary to be admitted into the order of the learned, I completely changed my opinion. For I found myself involved in so many doubts and errors, that I was convinced I had advanced no farther in all my attempts at learning, than the discovery at every turn of my own ignorance. HIS VIEW OF MATHEMATICS I was especially delighted with the mathematics, on account of the certitude and evidence of their reasonings; but I had not as yet a precise knowledge of their true use; and thinking that they but contributed to the advancement of the mechanical arts, I was astonished that foundations, so strong and solid, should have had no loftier superstructure reared on them. Page 3 of 11 HIS AVOIDANCE OF THEOLOGY I revered our theology, and aspired as much as any one to reach heaven: but being given assuredly to understand that the way is not less open to the most ignorant than to the most learned, and that the revealed truths which lead to heaven are above our comprehension, I did not presume to subject them to the impotency of my reason; and I thought that in order competently to undertake their examination, there was need of some special help from heaven, and of being more than man. HIS DISILLUSIONMENT WITH PHILOSOPHY Of philosophy I will say nothing, except that when I saw that it had been cultivated for many ages by the most distinguished men, and that yet there is not a single matter within its sphere which is not still in dispute, and nothing, therefore, which is above doubt, I did not presume to anticipate that my success would be greater in it than that of others; and further, when I considered the number of conflicting opinions touching a single matter that may be upheld by learned men, while there can be but one true, I reckoned as well-nigh false all that was only probable. HIS REJECTION OF THE OTHER “SCIENCES” As to the other sciences, inasmuch as these borrow their principles from philosophy, I judged that no solid superstructures could be reared on foundations so infirm; and neither the honor nor the gain held out by them was sufficient to determine me to their cultivation: for I was not, thank Heaven, in a condition which compelled me to make merchandise of science for the bettering of my fortune; and though I might not profess to scorn glory as a cynic, I yet made very slight account of that honor which I hoped to acquire only through fictitious titles. DESCARTES’ PRELIMINARY ACTION STEP For these reasons, as soon as my age permitted me to pass from under the control of my instructors, I entirely abandoned the study of letters, and resolved no longer to seek any other science than the knowledge of myself, or of the great book of the world. I spent the remainder of my youth in traveling, in visiting courts and armies, in holding intercourse with men of different dispositions and ranks, in collecting varied experience, in proving myself in the different situations into which fortune threw me, and, above all, in making such reflection on the matter of my experience as to secure my improvement. Page 4 of 11 3 MAIN OBSERVATIONS: 1. WHAT IS NEEDED IS PRACTICAL TRUTH. For it occurred to me that I should find much more truth in the reasonings of each individual with reference to the affairs in which he is personally interested, and the issue of which must presently punish him if he has judged amiss, than in those conducted by a man of letters in his study, regarding speculative matters that are of no practical moment, and followed by no consequences to himself…. 2. OPINIONS THAT ARE RELATIVE TO CUSTOMS AND CULTURES FLUCTUATE AND, THEREFORE, ARE NOT ABSOLUTE. I took into account also the very different character which a person brought up from infancy in France or Germany exhibits, from that which, with the same mind originally, this individual would have possessed had he lived always among the Chinese or with savages, and the circumstance that in dress itself the fashion which pleased us ten years ago, and which may again, perhaps, be received into favor before ten years have gone, appears to us at this moment extravagant and ridiculous. I was thus led to infer that the ground of our opinions is far more custom and example than any certain knowledge.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Descartes' Influence in Shaping the Modern World-View
    R ené Descartes (1596-1650) is generally regarded as the “father of modern philosophy.” He stands as one of the most important figures in Western intellectual history. His work in mathematics and his writings on science proved to be foundational for further development in these fields. Our understanding of “scientific method” can be traced back to the work of Francis Bacon and to Descartes’ Discourse on Method. His groundbreaking approach to philosophy in his Meditations on First Philosophy determine the course of subsequent philosophy. The very problems with which much of modern philosophy has been primarily concerned arise only as a consequence of Descartes’thought. Descartes’ philosophy must be understood in the context of his times. The Medieval world was in the process of disintegration. The authoritarianism that had dominated the Medieval period was called into question by the rise of the Protestant revolt and advances in the development of science. Martin Luther’s emphasis that salvation was a matter of “faith” and not “works” undermined papal authority in asserting that each individual has a channel to God. The Copernican revolution undermined the authority of the Catholic Church in directly contradicting the established church doctrine of a geocentric universe. The rise of the sciences directly challenged the Church and seemed to put science and religion in opposition. A mathematician and scientist as well as a devout Catholic, Descartes was concerned primarily with establishing certain foundations for science and philosophy, and yet also with bridging the gap between the “new science” and religion. Descartes’ Influence in Shaping the Modern World-View 1) Descartes’ disbelief in authoritarianism: Descartes’ belief that all individuals possess the “natural light of reason,” the belief that each individual has the capacity for the discovery of truth, undermined Roman Catholic authoritarianism.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy 306: the Rationalists (Winter Session 2018, First Term [Fall]) Section: A01 (CRN: 12528)
    Philosophy 306: The Rationalists (Winter Session 2018, First Term [Fall]) Section: A01 (CRN: 12528) General Course Information, Recommended Supplementary Reading, Schedule I. General Course Information Location & Time: CLE C112; 11:30 a.m. – 12:50 p.m. Instructor: Dr. David Scott Instructor’s Office: CLE B320 Office Hours: Mon. & Thurs. 10:00-11:00 a.m. (always by appointment) Telephone & Email: 250-721-7517; [email protected] ABOUT THIS COURSE: Rationalism is one of the most historically important streams of philosophy, and it informs and motivates much philosophical activity. It is the name given to a broadly defined set of positions and doctrines, all of which tend to involve the ideas that in some sense reason is real and that the universe exhibits reason or is rational. It is expressed in the views that everything has a reason, and that humans possess the ability, in the form of a faculty of reason, to apprehend the rational character of the universe. In this course we shall examine some of rationalism’s most famous and influential proponents, all of whom were active in the enlightenment period of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We shall be focusing on works by René Descartes (Rules for the Direction of the Mind, Discourse on Method, Meditations, and Principles of Philosophy), and Gottfried W. Leibniz (Discourse on Metaphysics, Monadology). We may also be supplementing these studies with brief excursions into the philosophies of Malebranche and Spinoza. TEXTS AND COURSE MATERIAL: 1. René Descartes. Philosophical Essays and Correspondence, ed. Roger Ariew, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company 2000. Paper ISBN-13: 978-0872205024 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    DISCOURSE ON METHOD AND MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Rene Descartes,Donald A. Cress | 128 pages | 01 Jun 1999 | Hackett Publishing Co, Inc | 9780872204201 | English | Cambridge, MA, United States Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy PDF Book Refresh and try again. In following these precepts, Descartes aims to be the happiest he can be. Books for People with Print Disabilities. Quotes from Discourse on Meth Philosophy has been disputed over for millennia without any real agreements, and Descartes doubts that he could settle what the greatest minds of past generations have failed to achieve. His very storytelling belies it. Make sure your voice is heard. This edition contains Donald Cress's completely revised translation of the Meditations from the corrected Latin edition and recent corrections to Discourse on Method, bringing this version even closer to Descartes's original, while maintaining the clear and accessible style of a classic teaching edition. Key Figures. But what Descartes is trying to say is that a God is necessary for us to have any knowledge at all — the concept of a benevolent God ensures that I am justified in accepting the general beliefs that make life possible, for he is presenting those ideas to me and, being benevolent, he cannot be a deceiver. A series We cannot conclude that the mind thinking thing is not also a corporeal thing, unless we know that we know everything about the mind. The Meditator wishes to avoid an excess of skepticism and instead uses a skeptical method, an important distinction. View 1 comment.
    [Show full text]
  • Class 2: Descartes: Introduction, Discourse on Method (1637)
    Class 2: Descartes: Introduction, The Meditations is one of the great works of philo- Discourse on Method (1637) sophy, a seminal treatise for subsequent philosophers. In its compact form, it raises most of the problems that Rene Descartes was born in 1596 at La Haye, in they will need to address: skepticism, the existence Touraine, France. He became one of the central and nature of the self, the existence of God, the intellectual figures of the seventeenth century, possibility of error, the nature of truth, including the making major contributions to metaphysics, natural truth of mathematics, the essence and existence of philosophy, and mathematics. Descartes was edu- bodies, and so on. The great Cartesian commentator cated at the Jesuit College of La Fleche (in Anjou) Martial Gueroult described the Meditations as a from about 1607 to about 1615; he received a master’s diptych, a work of art in two panels. He saw the first degree in law from Poitier in 1616. The next year he three Meditations as the first panel, ruled by the went to the Netherlands and joined the army of Prince darkness of the principle of universal deception, with Maurice of Nassau; at Breda he made the a battle being fought against it by the truth of the acquaintance of Isaac Beeckman, who introduced him existence of the self—a point of light—a narrow but to a “physico-mathematical” way of doing natural piercing exception to the principle of doubt, philosophy. When traveling in Germany, he had a culminating with the defeat of the principle and the series of dreams (on November 10, 1619) about the victory of the exception.
    [Show full text]
  • The History and Philosophy of Astronomy
    Astronomy 350L (Spring 2005) The History and Philosophy of Astronomy (Lecture 12: Descartes) Instructor: Volker Bromm TA: Amanda Bauer The University of Texas at Austin Rene Descartes: The First Modern Philosopher • 1596 (La Haye) – 1650 (Stockholm) • founder of modern philosophy - method of radical doubt - mind-body dualism • invented analytical geometry (Cartesian coordinates) • Importance for astronomy: - mechanistic universe - infinite universe Descartes: Timeline and Context Descartes • setting the intellectual stage for Newton • younger contemporary of Galileo and Kepler Descartes: Geography of his Life School in La Fleche (1606-14) • newly established elite school, run by Jesuits • Curriculum: - Latin - scholastic philosophy - state-of-the-art mathematics A Restless Early Life • 1615- 16: University in Poitiers (law degree) • 1618: joins Dutch army (as engineer) • 1619: joins Bavarian army (30 Years War) • 1622-28: lives in Paris • Also: extensive travel throughout this period Descartes in Paris (1622-28) • Paris: the hotspot of the Age! Descartes in Paris: Centralization of Power • Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) - rise in power - becomes Chief Minister - creates centralized (abolutistic) French State - founds Academie Francaise (“guardian” of French language) Descartes: A Desire for Calm and Peace • after having seen the world, Descartes wants quiet time to think and write • decides to leave bustle of Paris behind • move to Netherlands (sedentary 2nd half of his life) Descartes in the Netherlands (1628-49) • A young, vibrant nation:
    [Show full text]
  • Descartes' Cogito
    24.01: Classics of Western Philosophy Descartes’ Cogito (Meditation II) 1. The “Archimedean point” “[G]reat things are also to be hoped for if I succeed in finding just one thing, however slight, that is certain and unshaken” (63). The meditator’s candidate: “This pronouncement ‘I am, I exist’ [ego sum, ego existo] is necessarily true every time I utter it or conceive it in my mind” (64). Descartes articulated a similar point in his earlier work Discourse on the Method: And observing that this truth ‘ I am thinking, therefore I exist’ [je pense, donc je suis] was so firm and sure that all the most extravagant suppositions of the sceptics were incapable of shaking it, I decided that I could accept it without scruple as the first principle of the philosophy I was seeking.1 The most famous formulation of this point comes from Descartes’ Principles of Philosophy: For it is a contradiction to suppose that what thinks does not, at the very time when it is thinking, exist. Accordingly, this piece of knowledge— I am thinking, therefore I exist [cogito, ergo sum]—is the first and most certain of all to occur to anyone who philosophizes in an orderly way.2 2. The special status of cogito-type beliefs or claims Some epistemological concepts:3 i. Indubitable: A person S’s belief that p is indubitable if and only if S cannot doubt p. ii. Self-verifying: If S asserts p, then p is true. Note also self-refuting: If S asserts p, then p is false. Also pragmatic contradiction: presupposing p while also denying p.
    [Show full text]
  • Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy
    Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy fourth edition RENE DESCARTES Translated by DONALD A. CRESS HACKETT PUBLISHING COMPANY Indianapolis /Cambridge Rene Descartes: 1596-1650 Discourse on Method was originally published in 1637. Meditations on First Philosophy was originally published in 1641. Fourth edition copyright © 1998 by Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 09 08 07 06 05 4 5 6 7 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Cover design by Listenberger Design & Associates Interior design by Dan Kirklin For further information please address Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. P.O. Box 44937 Indianapolis, Indiana 46244-0937 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Descartes, Rene, 1596-1650. [Discours de la methode. English] Discourse on method ; and, Meditations on first philosophy / Rene Descartes ; translated by Donald A. Cress.—4th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-87220-421-9 (hardcover).—ISBN 0-87220-420-0 (pbk.) 1. Methodology. 2. Science—Methodology. 3. First philosophy. I. Cress, Donald A. II. Descartes, Rene, 1596-1650. Meditations on first philosophy. III. Title. IV. Title: Meditations on first philosophy. B1848.E5C73 1998b 194—dc21 98-38149 CIP CONTENTS Editor s Preface vii Selected Bibliography xi DISCOURSE ON METHOD Note on the Translation xviii PART ONE 1 PART TWO 6 PART THREE 13 PART FOUR 18 PART FIVE 23 PART SIX 33 MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY Note on the Translation 46 Letter of Dedication 47 Preface to the Reader 51 Synopsis of the Following Six Meditations
    [Show full text]
  • Descartes on the Errors of the Senses1
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Birkbeck Institutional Research Online Descartes on the Errors of the Senses1 Descartes first invokes the errors of the senses in the Meditations to generate doubt; he suggests that because the senses sometimes deceive, we have reason not to trust them. This use of sensory error to fuel a sceptical argument fits a traditional interpretation of the Meditations as a work concerned with finding a form of certainty that is proof against any sceptical doubt. If we focus instead on Descartes’s aim of using the Meditations to lay foundations for his new science, his appeals to sensory error take on a different aspect. Descartes’s new science is based on ideas innate in the intellect, ideas that are validated by the benevolence of our creator. Appeals to sensory error are useful to him in undermining our naïve faith in the senses and guiding us to an appreciation of the innate ideas. However, the errors of the senses pose problems in the context of Descartes’s appeals to God’s goodness to validate innate ideas and natural propensities to belief. A natural tendency to sensory error is hard to reconcile with the benevolence of our creator. This paper explores Descartes’s responses to the problems of theodicy posed by various forms of sensory error. It argues that natural judgements involved in our visual perception of distance, size and shape pose a problem of error that resists his usual solutions. 1. Sensory error and scepticism Descartes first appeals to the errors of the senses in pursuing his plan of demolishing all his opinions through doubt.
    [Show full text]
  • Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciences
    The Project Gutenberg E-text of A Discourse on Method, by René Descartes. The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Discourse on Method, by René Descartes This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: A Discourse on Method Author: René Descartes Release Date: July 1, 2008 [EBook #59] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DISCOURSE ON METHOD *** Produced by Ilana and Greg Newby. HTML version by Al Haines. DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD OF RIGHTLY CONDUCTING THE REASON, AND SEEKING TRUTH IN THE SCIENCES by Rene Descartes PREFATORY NOTE PART I PART II PART III PART IV PART V PART VI http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59/59-h/59-h.htm[1/6/2012 12:08:07 PM] The Project Gutenberg E-text of A Discourse on Method, by René Descartes. not militate against its truth; and as for the most ordinary error of our dreams, which consists in their representing to us various objects in the same way as our external senses, this is not prejudicial, since it leads us very properly to suspect the truth of the ideas of sense; for we are not infrequently deceived in the same manner when awake; as when persons in the jaundice see all objects yellow, or when the stars or bodies at a great distance appear to us much smaller than they are.
    [Show full text]
  • International Journal of Arts and Humanities(IJAH) Bahir Dar- Ethiopia
    IJAH 5(3), S/NO 18, JUNE, 2016 120 International Journal of Arts and Humanities (IJAH) Bahir Dar- Ethiopia Vol. 5(3), S/No 18, June, 2016:120-131 ISSN: 2225-8590 (Print) ISSN 2227-5452 (Online) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ijah.v5i3.10 An Attempt at a Logical Refutation of Descartes’ Cogito Ergo Sum Ebeh, John Igbogo Department of Philosopy, Kogi State University, Anyigba Phone: +2348067092035 E-mail: [email protected] Abstract In the development of Greek philosophy, the focus of the ancient philosophers on realities, trying to determine the ultimate principle of all things, begs the question as to what part or extent of reality is assessable to man’s knowledge. And a kind of skepticism was born, shifting the attention from the object [or the realities on which the ancient philosophers were focused on] to the observing or the knowing subject; man and the means through which he comes into contact with the known object. Thus, the possibility of attaining certain knowledge about realities was denied by the skeptics, giving the unreliable nature of the means by which such knowledge were acquired and the complexities of realities as powerful premises for their conclusion until the emergence of Descartes’ cogito ergo sum, proving that there was something that could be known for certain using their [or the skeptic’s] own method [doubting] to prove to them that in their own doubting, they confirm their own existence. This paper is concerned with whether or not the cogito is a suitable premise for the conclusion [“existence”] of his argument.
    [Show full text]
  • Descartes' Demon: a Dialogical Analysis of Meditations on First Philosophy
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by LSE Research Online Alex Gillespie Descartes' demon: a dialogical analysis of meditations on first philosophy Article (Submitted version) (Pre-refereed) Original citation: Gillespie, Alex (2006) Descartes' demon: a dialogical analysis of meditations on first philosophy. Theory & psychology, 16 (6). pp. 761-781. ISSN 0959-3543 DOI: 10.1177/0959354306070527 © 2006 SAGE Publications This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/38651/ Available in LSE Research Online: November 2011 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. This document is the author’s submitted version of the journal article, before the peer review process. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. For more research by LSE authors go to LSE Research Online DESCARTES’ DEMON: A DIALOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY (9,366 words) Alex Gillespie Department of Psychology University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland UK [email protected] Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 466841 Fax: + 44 (0) 1786 467641 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the financial support of the ESRC and Peterhouse, Cambridge, and the dialogical support of Flora Cornish, Hubert Hermans, Per Linnell, Ivana Marková, Serge Moscovici, Jaan Valsiner, Brady Wagoner and a rigorous anonymous reviewer.
    [Show full text]
  • DISCOURSE on the METHOD of RIGHTLY CONDUCTING the REASON, and SEEKING TRUTH in the SCIENCES Rene Descartes
    1637 DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD OF RIGHTLY CONDUCTING THE REASON, AND SEEKING TRUTH IN THE SCIENCES Rene Descartes translated by John Veitch, LL.D. Descartes, Rene (1596-1650) - French philosopher and scientist regarded as the father of modern rationalism. Also noted as a mathematician, he is said to be the originator of modern scientific method and analytic geometry. Discourse on the Method (1637) - A six-part study on various scientific matters leading to the expression of Descartes’ primary philosophical principle, “I think, therefore I am.” Table Of Contents DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD OF RIGHTLY CONDUCTING THE REASON, AND SEEKING TRUTH IN THE SCIENCES . 4 PREFATORY NOTE BY THE AUTHOR . 4 CHAPTER I . 5 CHAPTER II . 14 CHAPTER III . 26 CHAPTER IV . 35 CHAPTER V . 44 CHAPTER VI . 62 THE END OF DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD . 79 DISCOURSE ON THE METHOD OF RIGHTLY CONDUCTING THE REASON, AND SEEKING TRUTH IN THE SCIENCES PREFATORY NOTE BY THE AUTHOR IF this Discourse appear too long to be read at once, it may be divided into six parts: and, in the first, will be found various considerations touching the Sciences; in the second, the principal rules of the Method which the Author has discovered; in the third, certain of the rules of Morals which he has deduced from this Method; in the fourth, the reasonings by which he establishes the existence of God and of the Human Soul, which are the foundations of his Metaphysic; in the fifth, the order of the Physical questions which he has investigated, and, in par- ticular, the explication of the motion of the heart and of some other difficulties pertaining to Medicine, as also the difference between the soul of man and that of the brutes; and, in the last, what the Author believes to be required in order to greater advancement in the investigation of Nature than has yet been made, with the reasons that have induced him to write.
    [Show full text]