Cartesian Philosophy: Core Concepts and Principles

Fundamental Concepts of Cartesian Philosophy

Reason: Descartes defines what he calls reason or good sense as the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood.

Tip: In general, it represents any intellectual object or thought.

Ideas and Substance

• Innate ideas: These are those that do not allow this demonstration.
• Simple ideas: These are intuitively grasped.
• Complex ideas: We know these by demonstration.
• Substance: In a general sense, it is what defines each being necessarily in its individuality.
• Modes: To Descartes, modes are the attributes or qualities of substances.
• Accidents: This designates that which belongs to a thing, but not in a constant necessity.
• Thought: Anthropological thought is a dualism of Descartes (body-soul).

The Nature of Being

Extension: The main attribute of the infinite substance. God is the perfection of the substance. For the created spiritual substance, the soul, the attribute is thought; for the created corporeal substance, it is extension.

Clear and Distinct Ideas

For Descartes, a clear and distinct idea is an idea that imposes immediate evidence; it is imposed without further reason.

• A clear idea: When our intellect can understand it without any difficulty.
• A distinct idea: When it appears in the margin, is simple and elementary, and not composed.
• Innate Ideas: These are the ideas that belong properly to the human mind.

Metaphysical Proofs

Objective Reality: Descartes tells us that every idea originates from a real extra-mental cause. It follows that if the idea as an objective reality requires a proper real cause, the idea of an infinite being must have an infinite cause; then the Infinite exists (God exists).

Attributes of the soul: Descartes doubts whether the body exists, but does not doubt the existence of the soul because thought is the only attribute that belongs to it and cannot leave it.

Thinking Substance: All features can be attributed to the self (body, soul, etc.). We can only, after the doubt, think: the self is res cogitans, a thinking substance.

Extensive Substance: For Descartes, these are, so to speak, physical objects.

The Four Rules of Method

1. Evidence: Admitting only that which is presented to our mind clearly and distinctly.
2. Analysis: We can only have evidence of simple ideas in the analysis. This involves dividing complex ideas into simple ones.
3. Synthesis: Reassembling the previously divided concepts through synthesis.
4. Enumeration: Reviewing the entire process to be sure not to miss anything.