Descartes’ Philosophy: Historical Context, Influence, and Legacy
Historical, Philosophical, and Cultural Context
The text discusses René Descartes’ Discourse on Method, a seminal work by the 17th-century French philosopher. It addresses the philosophical disillusionment stemming from Descartes’ time at the Jesuit college of La Flèche, where he accepted truths without personal verification.
Philosophical Context
Modern philosophy begins with Descartes, emerging from the shock of the scientific revolution. Intellectuals faced a crisis as the Aristotelian worldview crumbled. The experimental method triumphed, leading to a new way of philosophizing, intimately connected to modern science:
- Both rely solely on reason.
- Mathematics and mathematical principles are foundational to scientific and philosophical thinking.
The core problem in modern philosophy became the origin of knowledge, yielding two answers:
- Knowledge comes from the senses (empiricism).
- Valid knowledge comes from reason (rationalism).
Descartes initiated rationalism, aiming to resolve the crisis of thought. Rationalism asserts the sufficiency of reason:
- Negatively, reason’s exercise is unconstrained by higher authority.
- Positively, reason is the sole principle for judging truth.
Rationalism posits innate ideas or truths. Experience is merely an opportunity for the mind to act, but truth doesn’t depend on it. These ideas form the foundation for knowledge, using the mathematician’s method as the most accurate model to achieve certain principles. Rationalists seek a system of truths about reality.
Historical Context
The 17th century was a time of crisis:
- Economy: Primarily agricultural.
- Society: Stratified.
- Religion: Marked by the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, strengthening the Inquisition and causing conflicts like the Thirty Years’ War, in which Descartes participated.
- State: The king’s power was reinforced by the bourgeoisie, leading to absolutism, which exacerbated rather than resolved crises.
Cartesian absolute knowledge reflects this royal absolutism prevalent in the 17th century.
Cultural Context
The 17th century is the Baroque era, a period of crisis and change. The Baroque was pessimistic, emphasizing movement, transience, and the fleeting nature of Fortune. Everything is contingent and haphazard, lacking order, appearing as mere illusion. Descartes’ doubt about reality and his quest for certainty reflect this uncertainty. Yet, the Baroque was a “Golden Age” in literature, painting, and sculpture.
Assessment of Descartes’ Present Influence
Descartes was a courageous innovator who restored confidence in human knowledge, building a philosophical system with a lasting historical impact. His emphasis on intellectual abilities and rationality continues to influence modern thought. The need for a method to advance reason also endures.
The mind-body dualism persisted until Newton, but its implications for humanity remain. The resulting mechanism had both positive and negative effects:
- It stimulated biological, physiological, and medical research.
- It presented nature as being at the service of man, fostering a disrespectful attitude towards it.
- The “cult of the machine” has its roots in this mechanism.
The assertion of subjectivity or the “I” persists. Today, individuals strive to establish their identity in an impersonal world.
Relationship with Other Authors
a. Regarding Ontology or Theory of Ideas
Plato’s Influence on Descartes
The Platonic influence is evident. Plato’s sensory world corresponds to Descartes’ extended substance. However, Descartes believes this is knowable through reason, focusing on primary qualities. Descartes denies the independent existence of Platonic ideas, considering them thought contents. He posits a thinking substance or soul, similar to Plato’s dualism and belief in the soul’s immortality. Descartes’ God resembles the Platonic Demiurge but plays a more central role.
Regarding Epistemology or Theory of Knowledge
Relationship with Plato
Both Plato and Descartes agree that reason, not the senses, provides true knowledge. They both affirm innate ideas. Plato’s “discursive thought” corresponds to deduction, and “intelligence” to Cartesian intuition. Both emphasize the need for a method, but Descartes uses mathematics, while Plato uses dialectic.
Relationship with Ortega
Descartes is the first idealist, emphasizing the uncertainty of things and the potential for error. Philosophy is built on reason. Ortega, initially a rationalist and idealist, critiques this, synthesizing idealism and rationalism. Idealism is correct in that we only know things as they are thought by us, but the subject is inseparable from things. We encounter ourselves and things simultaneously.