Descartes’ Meditations I And II - Loudoun County Public .

Descartes’ Meditations I and II (1641)

Rene Descartes – Basic Biographical Information He was born in La Haye, France in 1596. Although a Catholic, Descartes wouldgrow up in an area (Poitou) where Huguenots were prevalent. His father, Joachim, was a minor nobleman and judge Descartes’ mother Jeanne died of tuberculosis when he was 1 Descartes went to a new school in La Fleche called Henri le Grand, from 16061614. He received a solid grounding in mathematics and scholastic philosophyfrom the Jesuits who taught there. Descartes later got a law degree from the Univ. of Poitiers but never practicedlaw In 1618, just before the start of the Thirty Years War, he enlisted in theProtestant leader Maurice of Nassau’s army in Breda, where he trained troopsas a military engineer. Later, he joined the Catholic Duke Maximilian of Bavaria’s army. As one of itsofficers, he was present at the Battle of White Mountain. In 1620, he left the military and traveled for several years through Germanyand Italy. He also spent time in Paris, where he befriended poets like JeanLouis Guez de Balzac and Theophile de Viau, gambled heavily and wasinvolved in a duel over a woman. In 1628 he moved to Holland, where hewould stay for the next 20 years. He found Holland more tolerant than France. It is unclear how Descartes supported himself during this time although hewas a gentleman of some means who had an inheritance that he invested inbonds. Some scholars also allege that he may have earned money as a spy.

More biographical information In 1649 Descartes was offered a lucrative jobas a tutor to Queen Christina of Sweden, withwhom he had been in correspondence overseveral years about his writings. Unfortunately for him, the job required thatDescartes get up early every day to give thequeen lessons starting around 5 AM since thequeen had affairs of state to attend to later. In 1650 Descartes came down withpneumonia. He never recovered from it anddied in Stockholm that year.

Descartes wrote a number of important works While he wrote The World (1630-1633), a book oncosmology influenced by Copernicus’ ideas, Descartes’two most famous books are philosophical works, hisDiscourse on the Method (1637) and MetaphysicalMeditations (1641) Each work reflects the challenge posed to tradition andauthority by new discoveries in math and scienceduring the Early Modern Period. What had seemed true for hundreds of years – e.g.,Aristotle and Ptolemy’s geocentric view of the universe– was now increasingly being put into doubt. Not just theories but also whole systems of thoughtwere being overturned. In his Meditations Descartes asks therefore whetherthere is anything one can know with certainty.

Use of methodological doubt to find a solid foundation Descartes initially thinks that knowledgerevealed to him by his senses is certain. He then calls that into doubt. He realizesthat while dreaming, his senses coulddeceive him. Next, he considers where necessarytruths, such as those of mathematics orlogic, are more reliable. But here also, there are problems. Forexample, it is possible that there could bean evil demon who could deceive himrecording such statements as: “2 3 5

Descartes’ 1) evil demon; and 2) cogito ergo sum Descartes realizes, though, that even ifsome evil demon were tricking him, onething cannot be denied: that there is something being deceived, some thinking thing. And the fact that he is doubting hisexistence suggests that he does in factexist (some subject must be doing thedoubting). This leads to what is Descartes believes isthe foundation for knowledge: thestatement, “I think, therefore I am.”(cogito, ergo sum)

The wax argument Descartes considers whether or not aphysical object could be considered apermanent feature of reality. He uses a piece of wax as an example. He notes that if the piece of wax isexposed to fire, it will melt. While melting, a number of its propertieschange (e.g., shape or texture or color) If he still considers it a piece of wax, it isultimately because of his understanding.

The identity of a substance persists even if its properties change Also important for Descartes isthe notion that we can a clearand distinct idea of whatsubstance is The fact that something or ideais clear and distinct is going to beone of Descartes’ criteria fortruth

Cartesian Dualism Any kind of philosophical position that dividesthe world into two completely distinctsubstances or kinds of things is referred to asdualism. The distinction can be between spirit and matter,immaterial and material, supernatural andnatural, good and evil, etc. For Descartes the division is between mind andbody. The mind is subject to the laws of reasonbut is otherwise free. The body, on the otherhand, is like a machine. It is governed by the lawsof physics and is subject to cause and effect.

The Mind-Body Problem The mind and the body, for Descartes, are two entirelydifferent kinds of entities or substances. The basic feature of the mind is thought (or thinking). It isnot found in space and is not extended. It is immaterial. The basic feature of the body is its extension, the fact thatit is extended (in terms of its length, breadth, depth, size,shape, etc.). It is material. The realms of the mind and the body do not overlap andare thus completely different. If all this is true, though, how do the mind and bodyinteract? In other words, how can mental events haveanything to do with physical events and vice versa? Descartes is convinced that there must be some kind ofinteraction. He decides that it must take place in the brain,in the pineal gland. This is a problem, however, since thepineal gland is actually part of the body.

Some Criticisms of Descartes Gilbert Ryle, The Concept of Mind (1949):Descartes suggests that the mind (or soul) cancontinue to exist after the body has died but hecan offer no proof of that. Ryle says thatDescartes also can’t explain how the minddirects the body (“the ghost in the machine”). Susan Bordo, The Flight to Objectivity (1987):Bordo is a feminist critic of Descartes. Shethinks he is emblematic of an increasingmasculinization of nature, an attempt todominate the world by the use of reason.“Cartesian modernity is inherently linked to therepression of nature and women.” Its emphasison rationality and objectivism has led to menand women’s widespread alienation from thenatural world. The world is less a complexmachine than an organic whole. Bordo also argues that Descartes fails torecognize that women’s experiences areembodied experiences. You cannot separatepeople’s mental and physical lives.

Descartes wrote a number of important works While he wrote The World (1630-1633), a book on cosmology influenced by opernicus’ ideas, Descartes’ two most famous books are philosophical works, his Discourse on the Method (1637) and Metaphysical Meditations (1641)