Descartes' Three Certainties: Foundation of Scientific Philosophy

Descartes' Methodical Doubt and the Three Certainties

The Quest for Indubitable Truths

Descartes' attempt to exercise universal doubt aimed not at skepticism, but at establishing a foundation for true knowledge. His methodical doubt sought to identify truths immune to skepticism. Through this process, he established three indubitable certainties.

First Certainty: The Existence of the Thinking Self (Cogito)

Descartes realized that even if he doubted everything else, he could not doubt his own existence as a thinking being. This is encapsulated in his famous phrase "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am").

Second Certainty: The Existence of God

Descartes reasoned that his own imperfection implied the existence of a perfect being, God. He argued that the idea of perfection could not originate from an imperfect being. Furthermore, existence is a perfection, therefore God, a perfect being, must exist.

Third Certainty: The Existence of the External World

Descartes observed that mathematical truths are clear and distinct. Since the material world can be expressed mathematically, he concluded that it must exist. The existence of God further guarantees the validity of these mathematical truths and prevents deception.

The Foundation of Scientific Philosophy

These three certainties—the thinking self, God, and the external world—form the axiomatic principles of Descartes' philosophy. He aimed to deduce all other knowledge from these principles, creating a unified and universal philosophy based on scientific principles.

Contemporary Relevance and the Philosophy of Consciousness

Descartes' ambition for a scientific philosophy resonates with contemporary philosophers. His emphasis on the "Cogito" marked a shift towards a "philosophy of consciousness," where the thinking subject becomes the starting point of philosophical inquiry.

This subjective orientation emphasizes the importance of the knowing subject in validating knowledge. Descartes' methodical doubt leads to epistemological self-sufficiency, where the validity of knowledge depends solely on the subject's certainty.

Husserl and Phenomenology

Husserl, a contemporary philosopher, shared Descartes' goal of rigorous scientific philosophy. He employed a method similar to Descartes' methodical doubt, bracketing the existence of reality to focus on pure consciousness and its phenomena (phenomenology). He practiced epojé (suspension of judgment) until certain knowledge was attained.

Like Descartes, Husserl's philosophy can be considered a "philosophy of consciousness." However, Husserl modified the concept of consciousness, viewing it as intentional—always directed towards an object. Consciousness, for Husserl, is a relationship, always consciousness of something.