Rene Descartes

Rene Descartes 1596-1650

‘Cogito ergo sum’ (I am thinking, therefore I exist)

French philosopher, born near Tours, he was educated at the *Jesuit college at La Fleche and at the University of Poitiers. As a young man he travelled widely and in 1619, after a day’s meditation in a stove-heated room in Bavaria, became convinced that he was destined to found a new philosophical system. Furthermore, it has been said that Rene Descartes is the father of modern philosophy; with his contribution to the scientific revolution in the 17^th century. Where he argued for the elimination of real qualities from physics in favor of explanations involving only the divisions, shapes, and motions of matters; in philosophical terms: a radical move from the medieval Metaphysics to epistemology.

            Therefore, the rational foundation is the epicenter of modern philosophy from the beginning of the 17^th  century. It is imperative to note here, that the natural law ideology that set ablaze countless revolution in the 17^th century were directly influence by Descartes’ reasoning of ‘Real Qualities’ proposition. The premise natural law draws its strength from was the idea that if any knowledge is possible it can be deducted by mathematics and discover by science.  Robert M. Martin define natural law as, “A natural law can be a formulation of a regularity found in the natural world, the sort of thing science discovers.” (Martin)

Consequently, it can be argued that many philosophical and scientific discoveries in the modern world can be attributed to Descartes methods from which he search tiressly to find the edge or certainty to eliminate his doubts about things and how they can be grasps. Nevertheless, he thought for such discovery to be possible he will have to reconstruct knowledge on the basis of mathematics; he was attracted by the certainty and clarity of this discipline. In addition to extend his methods to the whole of human knowledge, “To this end he devised his method of doubt, rejecting everything in which one can imagine the least doubt, so as to arrive at an unshakeable foundation for philosophy” (Cross and Livingstone).

The precision he found in mathematics and for the provision to any type of knowledge is formidable. On the other hand, very much controversial because it makes room for skepticism and challenge to authority; it will not be surprising that he on several occasions had problem with the church institution of his day. He argues, “For whether I am awake or dreaming, it remains true that two and three make five. Here Descartes seems to imply that we cannot dream that two and three are four, though he does not explicitly say so” (Clark). Therefore, here it seems that mathematics; escape this skeptical criticism, for its certainty and clarity to make knowledge of natural laws or internal things possible. Finally, “He also proceeds from this premise to established the existence first of God and then of the external world whose nature we can understand provided we restrict ourselves to the (God-given) ‘clear and distinct perceptions’ of the intellect” (Cross and Livingstone).

 

Bibliography

Clark, Gordon H. Thales to Dewey. Ed. Elizaneth Clark George Louis A. Zeller. Second Edition. Jefferson: The Trinity Foundatio, 1989.

Cross and Livingstone. "The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Ed. E.A. Livingstone. 3rd . New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 447.

Martin, Robert M. "The Philosopher's Disctionary." Martin, Robert M. The Philosopher's Dictionary. Thrid Edition. Mississauga: Broadview Press, 2002. 206-207.