Descartes: Modern Philosophy, Self, and Method

Descartes and the Challenge of Modernity

Descartes faces the challenge of modernity by trying to unify the fundamental knowledge of science and philosophy.

This unification is achieved through mathematical expression that is intuitive rather than deductive.

The method revolves around the self, which becomes the center of philosophy in two ways:

• The self is the beginning of the method.
• The self is the certainty of that knowledge and shares the great theme of modern philosophy, as opposed to medieval philosophy, in which God and the world were the key issues.

By focusing on self-philosophical inquiry, Descartes comes to idealism. Idealism posits that we cannot know reality directly but indirectly through ideas. It is divided into:

• Rationalists: Ideas are logical-mathematical concepts.
• Empiricists: The ideas are psychological images of memory and inspiration.

Modern philosophy is at odds with idealism: the information in the ways the structures filtered our intellectual and sensory experiences cannot guarantee that they are well as we know them.

Biography of René Descartes

René Descartes, philosopher and mathematician, was born in 1596 in France. During his childhood, he suffered from failing health. He earned a bachelor's degree and a law degree and, at 22, left for the Netherlands to serve as a soldier. On November 10, 1619, he experienced the "revelation" that led him to develop his method. He gave up military life and returned to France to sell his possessions and devote himself to the contemplative life. From 1628 to 1649, he lived in the Netherlands. During the first five years, he developed his system in the world and the conception of man and the human body. When he went public, he learned of the condemnation of Galileo and resigned from the publication. In 1637, he wrote the discourse where he proposed a method for systematic doubt to prosecute the knowledge of the time.

Descartes began to be famous, which earned him threats and religious persecution. In 1649, he moved to Stockholm, where he died five months later of pneumonia. Descartes is considered the initiator of rationalist philosophy and a breaking point with scholasticism.

Works by Descartes

• Discourse on Method
• The Passions of the Soul
• Meditations
• Principles of Philosophy