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Rene Descartes 1596-1650
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Biography by Peter Landry at blupete.com. Excerpt:
Descartes was a product of the church and his philosophy reflected the
times in which he lived. Descartes was a dualist,
viz., a man was of two natures, a spiritual nature and a temporal nature. Now whether this
was a belief held deeply, might be a matter of some question, what is clear is that he
would have professed his beliefs, such, that, they were in keeping with the doctrine of
the time, as promulgated by the all powerful church.1 As a dualist,
Descartes, would have accepted that there exists a priori
truths (truths not derived from experience; truths such as the existence of God). And,
while Descartes accepted some ideas were developed from experience, he was steadfast in
his belief that certain ideas were innate. By pure deduction Descartes evolved for himself
entire universes that neither he, nor anyone else, could perceive by the use of their
natural senses. All that was necessary, for Descartes, was intense self examination and
intense reason, and, through this process, all would be revealed. |
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Written by Clodius Piat, transcribed by Rick
McCarty
Excerpt:
(Renatus Cartesius), philosopher and scientist, born at La Haye France, 31
March, 1596; died at Stockholm, Sweden, 11 February 1650. He studied at the Jesuit college
of La Flèche, one of the most famous schools of the time. In 1613 he went to Paris, where
he formed a lasting friendship with Father Mersenne, O. F. M., and made the acquaintance
of the mathematician Mydorge. He afterwards enlisted in the armies of Maurice of Nassau,
and of the Duke of Bavaria. On 10 November, 1619, he felt a strong impulse to set aside
the prejudices of his childhood and of his environment, and to devote his life to the
restoration of human knowledge, which was then in a state of decadence; and for him this
mission took on quite a mystical character. He had a dream which he interpreted as a
revelation, and he became convinced that "it was the Spirit of Truth that willed to
open for him all the treasures of knowledge". After much journeying in Brittany,
Poitou, Switzerland, and Italy, he returned to Paris in 1625. There he remained for two
years during which it was his fortune to meet Cardinal Bérulle who encouraged him in his
scientific vocation. But as Paris offered neither the peace nor the independence his work
demanded, he set out in 1629 for Holland, and there in the midst of a commercial people he
enjoyed the advantage of living as quietly as in a desert. From this retreat he gave to
the world his "Discours de la méthode" (1637), "Méditations" (1641),
"Principes" (1644), and "Passions"(l649). "Le Monde" had
been completed in 1633, but the condemnation of Galileo frightened Descartes who preferred
to avoid all collision with ecclesiastical authority. He deferred the publication of this
clever work without, however, losing hope of eventually bringing it out. In 1649, yielding
to the entreaties of Queen Christina, he went to Sweden, and died at Stockholm of
inflammation of the lungs.
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Excerpt: Descartes was educated at a Jesuit college which
was firmly grounded in the scholastic tradition. After furthering his education in Paris,
he enlisted in the Dutch and, later, the Bavarian militaries. In 1629 Descartes moved to
Holland where he lived in seclusion for 20 years, changing his residence frequently to
preserve his privacy. During this period he produced the writings upon which his fame
rests. His studies were first restricted to science, and only later did he explore
metaphysics. In 1649, Descartes moved to Stockholm at the request of Queen Christina of
Sweden who employed him as a philosophy tutor. Christina scheduled the lectures at 5 A.M.
The early hours and harsh climate took their toll on Descartes' already weakened
condition. He died shortly after in 1650. During his life, Descartes' fame rose to such
an extent that many Catholics believed he would be a candidate for sainthood. As his body
was transported from Sweden back to France, anxious relic collectors along the path
removed pieces of his body. By the time his body reached France, it was considerably
reduced in size. |
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Excerpt: René Descartes' approach to the theory of
knowledge plays a prominent role in shaping the agenda of early modern philosophy. It
continues to affect (some would say "infect") the way problems in epistemology
are conceived today. Students of philosophy (in his own day, and in the history since)
have found the distinctive features of his epistemology to be at once attractive and
troubling: the emphasis on method, on discovering foundations, the conception of the
doubtful as contrasting with the warranted, the skeptical arguments undermining all our
commonsense opinions, to mention just a few that we shall consider. |
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A part of the Catalog of the Scientific Community (Galileo
Project). Compiled by: Richard S. Westfall, Department of History and Philosophy of
Science, Indiana University
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This site is from Serendip at Bryn Mawr. Serendip is a gathering place for people who
suspect that life's instructions are always ambiguous and incomplete. Originating in
interactions among neurobiologists, computer scientists, business people, and educators,
Serendip is both an expanding forum and a continually developing set of resources to
explore and support intellectual and social change in education, in social organization...
and in how one makes sense of life. Site includes:
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Descartes' Texts Online
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