Cogito_Ergo_Sum

Although it is debated whether or not Rene’ Descartes was an atheist, or as he claimed, a Roman Catholic (quite important in his seventeenth century Europe), by dissecting his views on metaphysics, it becomes quite clear that much of his doctrine is based upon faith, and that he merely tries to approach all subjects through a purely sectarian, logical view. This stance did not sit well with the all-powerful Catholic church in the early-to-mid 1600’s, and Descartes claimed to be a follower of the faith, although by all accounts not a highly devout follower, and even suppressed publication of a four year work in order to avoid falling into bad favor with the church. Regardless of what his theological viewpoint may or may not have been, his ideas on the principles of metaphysics are based solidly upon the notion of there being a god, and he was uniquely able to connect his metaphysical concepts with those of logic. Rene’ Descartes was a seventeenth century philosopher, mathematician, and physicist. He was born in 1596 in the town of La Haye en Touraine, located in southern France, to a wealthy aristocratic family. Descartes’ father was a member of parliament, his modern equivalent being a state senator, who understood the value of education. Rene’ Descartes was therefore enrolled in the finest schools of the day; in 1616 he received a degree in law and license to practice from the University of Poitiers. However, he subsequently seemed to have little interest in the subject, and like many contemporary philosophers, claimed that other than in the area of mathematics, all formal schooling was a waste. In Discourse on the Method, Descartes states, "I entirely abandoned the study of letters. Resolving to seek no knowledge other than that of which could be found in myself or else in the great book of the world, I spent the rest of my youth traveling, visiting courts and armies, mixing with people of diverse temperaments and ranks, gathering various experiences, testing myself in the situations which fortune offered me, and at all times reflecting upon whatever came my way so as to derive some profit from it." Throughout the following decade, Descartes spent time travelling across varying parts of Europe doing exactly that. He joined the army in Bavaria and was present during the Battle of the White Mountain, although he disdained military life, calling it “idle, stupid, immoral, and cruel.” At the conclusion of his voyages, Descartes finally settled in Holland, where he could enjoy greater freedom than in France, without fear of the Catholic Church. It was here that he spent almost the entirety of the remainder of his life. In a large portion of his work, Descartes struggled with problems of metaphysics. He rejected the Aristotelian notion of truth based on sensory perceptions and logical conclusions derived from such. Anything that has ever provided false information cannot ever be fully trusted, he claimed. Because even our senses are not always correct, we cannot use them to deduce reason. For example, a stick in the water may appear to be bent when actually it is straight, or an echo can be perceived as the actual sound. Descartes would find argument with the Allegory of the Cave, because while inside, the senses did not produce an accurate portrayal of reality compared to that which the same senses produced when outside of the cave. This doubt then once again raises the question, “Does anything exist'”. Descartes’ answer to this is that thought must come from something that exists. Therefore, if you are thinking, you exist. Since doubt is a form of thought, if anyone doubts Descartes’ theory, they have, in effect, proven themselves wrong. Descartes believed that mind and body are separate entities, meaning that either mind or body is, according to him, a thing “existing in such a manner that it has need of no other thing in order to exist" (The Principles of Philosophy). According to this philosophy, God is the only true substance that completely fits this category. However, counting out God, there are many substances that can exist with nothing else besides God. "Created substances, whether corporeal or thinking, may be conceived under this common concept; for they are things which need only the concurrence of God in order to exist" (The Principles of Philosophy). Descartes next presents the idea of “being” to describe substances, or their primary property. For example, the purpose of the eyes is to see. Again from Principals of Philosophy, "There is always one principal property of substance which constitutes its nature and essence, and on which all the others depend. Thus extension in length, breadth and depth, constitutes the nature of corporeal substance; and thought constitutes the nature of thinking substance. For all else that may be attributed to body presupposes extension, and is but a mode of this extended thing; as everything that we find in mind is but so many diverse forms of thinking." In other words, the main function of the mind is thinking, of which there exists many different types of thought. During his wanderings, Descartes would ponder various philosophical problems. While in the military and stationed in Ulm, Bavaria, he experienced a series of three dreams in which many questions he had were answered. Interestingly, he later was documented as performing all of his thinking and best works while in bed, which could sometimes extend past noon. During the last year of his life, while tutoring Queen Christina of Sweden, he was made to begin lessons promptly at five a.m., to which he attributed his degrading health. Descartes unfortunately perished at a young age, 53, apparently of a respiration disorder. While in Ulm, the first two dreams he experienced, which were apparently nightmares, involved being spun by a whirlwind and terrified by phantoms, while experiencing a constant feeling of falling. He then dreamt he would be presented with a melon that originated from a distant land. He was disturbed by thunderclaps and sparks flying around his room, and awoke to find sparks shooting from his stove. The third dream was all quiet and still. There was a table in front of him, upon which was placed a single book, an anthology of poetry. He opened it and read the first verse he stumbled upon, which happened to be Ausonius, "Quod vitae sectabor iter" (“What path shall I take in life'”). A stranger materialized and shot back the verse "Est et non" (Yes and no). Descartes claimed that he was familiar with this verse and wanted to show him where in the anthology it could be found. However, while attempting to locate the poem, the book disappeared and reappeared at the other side of the table, but was no longer complete. The poem from which he had previously read the verse was no longer present. At this time, the dream was over, and the book, table, and stranger all disappeared. Upon analysis of the dream, Descartes reached several conclusions. The first is that the first two dreams were sent to him by a spiritual being, God. He then prayed and vowed to live a more humble life, among other things. The third dream is analyzed as being the answer to his reason problem. When attempting to obtain any form of information, Descartes devised his method to ensure that only the truth is accepted as such. It consists of the following: Only what is clear in your individual mind, free of all doubt can be called true. Single large problems must be split into multiple smaller ones. Begin with the simplest problems; conclude with the most difficult. Recheck all work when finished. It is these principles of reason, inspired by a dream, that Descartes presented in Discourse on the Method of Properly Guiding the Reason in the Search of Truth in the Sciences nearly twenty years later. While these methods of reason do not immediately seem connected to the peculiar series of dreams, the thought process connecting the two can be found contained inside the aforementioned book. It is not the intent of this brief essay to delve into Descartes’ methods of reason, rather, the investigation of the connection between the dreams themselves and of his conclusions reached presents an interesting situation, and while they appear to be contradictory, it can bee seen that his ideas concerning metaphysics are actually the basis from which his conclusions are derived. Based on Descartes’ previous observation that “Anything that has ever provided false information can never fully be trusted”, how could he justify basing anything off of a dream' After all, none of the events of the dream actually happened; he merely lay sleeping in bed. His mind had provided false information unto itself, which is essentially what any dream is. To then base an entire theory concerning how to arrive at the truth upon a falsehood of a dream seems, on the surface, contradictory. The answer is that the dream did not actually provide the reasoning which his logic is based upon; it instead was merely a tool that sparked the idea of reason he had been struggling with. Rene’ Descartes was not merely just another philosopher; he was the single mind which transformed philosophy and the entire Western way of thought with respect to the sciences. He can rightly be credited with bringing us forth from an Aristotlean method of reason, which was senses-based and relied on previous assumptions to be truth, to our present, logical method of truth based on observation. Works Cited Descartes, René. (1960) Discourse on method, and meditations /Indianapolis : Bobbs-Merrill, Descartes, René. (1960, c1951) Meditations on first philosophy /New York : Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., Descartes, René. ([1955) Philosophical works of Descartes ;[New York] Dover Publications Descartes, René,Reynolds, Blai. (1988) Principles of philosophy /Lewiston, N.Y., USA : E. Mellen Press, Grene, Marjorie Glicksman. (1985) Descartes /Brighton : Harvester Press, Rée, Jonathan. (1975, c1974) Descartes /New York : Pica Press : distributed by Universe Books,