Rene Descartes (1596-1650)


 
 

Descartes' Times

1. Scientific Upheaval

1541-3 Copernicus publishes his heliocentric theory of the universe

1610 Galileo, using a telescope, detects phases of Venus and discovers four satellites revolving around Jupiter

1620 Bacon publishes his Novum Organum which stresses, among other things, the importance of empirical research

Galileo – "the grand book of the universe cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and read the alphabet in which it is composed. It is written in the language of mathematics."
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2. Scholasticism

Developed in the 13th Century from the fusing of Aristotle's philosophy with Christian doctrine.

It remained the dominant philosophical approach from the 13th Century until Descartes' time.

2 focusses of Scholasticism

a. Formal Debates – Great mental agility required for success

b. Critical Commentaries – Exhaustive, respectful study of classical texts (particularly of Aristotle)

 Descartes' Objections: a. Scholasticism had come to focus on winning debates rather than adding to our knowledge (think of Socrates' view of the Sophists)

b. Lack of precision, i.e., lack of firm foundations for inquiry
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3. Skepticism

Essentially, the view that we cannot attain knowledge.
- May be partial or total


Skepticism enjoyed a revival in the 16th Century. Why?

 
- Scientific Controversy

- Conflict between the Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformers


One of Descartes' main goals is to defeat skepticism.


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Biography

1596 Born in La Haye, France (now called 'Descartes')

1604-1614 Educated by the Jesuits at La Fleche

1614-1616 Studied law in Poitiers

1618 Left France for military service and then travel

1619 Said to have had a vision of a new philosophical system

1628 Settled in Holland

1649 Travels to Sweden as to be the tutor to Queen Christina

1650 Dies in Sweden. Killed by getting up early?

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Major Works

Rules for the Direction of the Mind (~1620-28, unpublished during his lifetime)

Le Monde (1633) Withdrawn from publication after Galileo was excommunicated)

Three Essays: Geometry, Optics, and Meteorology. The Discouse on Method was published as the introduction to the three essays (1637) Full title: Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting Reason and Reaching the Truth in the Sciences.

Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) Originally published along with a set of objections and replies.

Principles of Philosophy (1644)

The Passions of the Soul (1649)

[Philosophy 1200]