Descartes and Hume: Foundations of Modern Philosophy
Descartes’s Philosophy
René Descartes’s philosophy emerged during the scientific revolution of the sixteenth century, a period marked by conflicts between geocentric Aristotelian views and the heliocentric Copernican model. The Protestant Reformation also contributed to a climate of doubt, affecting both science and religion. In this context, Descartes sought a philosophy free from error, aiming for certainty. His method, inspired by the resolution-composition approach of the school of Padua, was intended as a guarantee of truth. He envisioned a unified science, represented by the metaphor of a tree, to ensure the unstoppable progress of knowledge. Descartes believed that the diversity of opinions stemmed from flawed methods, not from a lack of intelligence. His ideas were influenced by mathematics, which he saw as a model for achieving consensus. Cartesian rationalism became a cornerstone of Western philosophy and a foundation for scientific progress, with significant contributions to mathematics and physics.
David Hume’s Empiricism
David Hume, a leading figure of the British Enlightenment, aimed to be the “Newton of the moral sciences.” However, he became a skeptic and, along with Locke, a founder of empiricism. His critique of rationalism and metaphysics significantly influenced Western philosophy, even awakening Kant from his “dogmatic slumber.” Hume’s ideas have persisted in the works of philosophers like Russell and Popper, and his criticism of inductive reasoning has been crucial in the philosophy of science. His questioning of causal reasoning and the concept of substance has been debated throughout history. Hume also criticized the naturalistic fallacy and emphasized moral emotions, which became a hallmark of Anglo-Saxon thought. His work on history, religion, and politics, though less recognized, is significant. His defense of a historical approach to understanding cultural, religious, and political developments was later embraced by philosophers of suspicion and historicist currents in the nineteenth century.