Descartes' Method: Maxims, Rules, and Levels of Doubt
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Descartes' Provisional Moral Code
In the third part of his speech, Descartes sets out a provisional moral code consisting of three or four maxims.
First Two Maxims
The first two maxims separate the theoretical life from practical life. Questions should only be applied to intellectual life, while in practical life, one must continue to faithfully practice even uncertain or probable propositions.
Third Maxim
The third maxim is to overcome oneself, accept fate, but try to change one's thinking.
Fourth Maxim
The fourth maxim recommends dedicating life to the cultivation of reason and the pursuit of truth through a method.
Descartes' Methodological Rules
Descartes was aware that he was breaking with the previous era and aimed to establish a philosophy on entirely new foundations. He considered a method for reducing this to four precepts:
Rule 1: Evidence
Evidence is paramount. What is clear, distinct, and obvious are the same thing. Something is clear when it is so distinctly separated from everything else and contains nothing but what is clear.
Rule 2: Analysis
Reduce complex propositions into simple ones that can be grasped by reason (intuition).
Rule 3: Synthesis
Lead thoughts in order, starting with the easiest and simplest things to know, and then gradually rise to the knowledge of the most complex.
Rule 4: Enumeration
Make enumerations so complete and reviews so general that one is sure not to miss anything.
Levels of Doubt
The function of the method is to discover propositions whose truth cannot be doubted. It involves subjecting all certainties to a total critical examination, seeking absolute certainty. Descartes established three levels of doubt:
Level 1: Distrust in Sense Knowledge
Our senses may deceive us. Descartes used skeptical arguments against sensitive knowledge. While one might object that it is impossible to deny the truth of an experience, Descartes addresses this in the next level.
Level 2: The Argument of Sleep and Wakefulness
The inability to distinguish between dream and reality is a common argument of the time. The conclusion is that any proposal based on experience cannot overcome methodical doubt. This suspicion extends to all mathematical sciences.
Level 3: The Evil Genius
Conceive that a powerful evil genius could manipulate our beliefs. This is a metaphor for the question: "What if our nature is intellectually flawed?" Even if we believe in the truth, we might be wrong, indicating an intellectual defect. This is the most celebrated of his skeptical arguments.
We must not forget how Descartes also considers the hypothesis that an unfavorable or adverse causal order could induce a massive error, affecting even ideas taken from the senses or the imagination.