DISCOURSE ON METHOD & MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY By Ren Descartes Discourse on Method, Background

NOTES: Rene Descartes (15961650) was a seminal figure in the scientific revolution of the 17th century. This was a revolution in the full sense of that word: an old worldview was overturned and rejected in favor of a new, very different worldview. This new worldview was based on hypothesis and experiment, on reducing scientific phenomena to a very few, simple mathematical formulae. The old worldview was Aristotelian scholasticism: a worldview closely tied to the Catholic Church, which had been the exclusive seat of learning in the West since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Aristotelian worldview was based on reason and logical deduction. Truth was something that could be known with certainty and deduced from other self-evident truths. Aristotle explained that scientific knowledge is certain knowledge deduced from certain premises. For example, all Ys are Z; X is a Y; therefore, X is a Z. This three step process, which contains two premises and one deduction, is called a syllogism and was the basis of Aristotles logic and science. This is the knowledge that Descartes is rejecting, because he does not believe that is the knowledge of all useful things which he desires, not to mention Aristotles logic was often incorrect. The Discourse on Method is a bit of a revolution in scientific thinking and logic, but still pays lip service to Aristotelian logic. Therefore, Descartes is paying homage to Aristotle while promoting his own ideas in the Discourse. An example would be that all humans possess equal reason. Reason is considered a form, and not an accident. (Forms and accidents are Aristotelian terms, which Descartes uses, in a sense, to pay homage to Aristotle) A human wouldnt be human without reason. Something like legs or arms would be accidental. This is Descartes promoting his own ideas about reason, but using Aristotles terms. Descartes establishes himself as a rational philosopher. He maintains that there is something, namely our reason, which we as humans are born with and all share. This is different from empiricist philosophers at the time which maintain that humans are all born with a blank slate and all of our knowledge comes from experience. The Discourse itself is meant to serve as a preface for three essays, but it has since far surpassed them in reputation. While the essays are now rarely read, the Discourse itself has endured. The Discourse is intended to introduce the scientific method that Descartes has invented and to explain how his views came about and why he has been so hesitant to publish them, while the essays are meant to serve as evidence of the fruits of his labor. The Discourse does not just give us insight into Descartes philosophy and his method; it also gives us insight into the intellectual climate of his day.