That's It

That's it for the semester -- thanks for participating on the blog!

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In A Discourse on Method, self-intellect is cast as the most important of human traits. Descartes speaks out against those who accept the word of others or the church without first asking the most important question of "why?" When looking at the skyline of A Discourse on Method, the most prominent building that stands out is logical thought. While Descartes uses the term self-intellect, a more appropriate term should be logical thought. The ultimate goal of his writings is to encourage the population to think through the basis of what they believe. Rather than just accept the religious teachings as truth and believing anything the church says, Descartes wants people to consider what the teachings imply and judge on a case by case basis which teachings are worth listening to and which should be disregarded. The most relevant modern day example comes with the government. Some people blindly accept government policy as it is given. However men like Stephen Colbert and John Stewart act as Descartes. These men ask American citizens to look at their blind faith in the government and reconsider it. They ask vital questions about why certain policies have been made and make even the most carefully crafted policy seem ridiculous. Their careful analysis of the government helps people realize the ridiculous nature of what they are trained to think. This training can happen unintentionally just from people choosing to ignore what is happening in the world. Just like Descartes, Stewart and Colbert find the most important thing to be the ability to think for oneself and develop valid arguments to back up one’s own opinions.

Descartes

Descartes focuses on widening his understanding of the world. He sets out to do this by (1) abandoning his previous preconceptions about right, wrong, and the like, (2) reading and travelling in order to expose himself to the most of what is available to him, and (3) rebuilding and refining his beliefs. Descartes begins by realizing that his teachers and his studies were biased on the whole; he rests with the idea that he “could discover much more truth from the reasoning that we all make about things that affect us and that will soon cause us harm if we misjudge them, than from the speculations in which a scholar engages in the privacy of his study” (11). On this note, he holds that because students are fed the ideas of their schools and teachers, they are not easily able to formulate their own opinions based on experience. He argues that “our judgments are [not] as pure or as solid as they might have been if we had full use of our reason from the moment of our birth, and had been guided by that alone” (13), thus he seeks to revise his judgments from their base. Descartes describes this process in four parts: (1) only accept what has been proven or is incontrovertible, (2) break the ideas down into separate parts, (3) reevaluate the parts from simplest to most complex, and (4) expose himself to ideas that may conflict with his, so that he can really see all that he has taken it all into account. After the end of these processes, after nine years, Descartes comes to the conclusion that his moral code – that is, what is most important to him – is to: obey laws, customs, and God; be firm in his actions and opinions; and control his desires (in a similar fashion to what Krishna would promote) by trying his best and accepting defeat.

Friendship is like peeing on yourself, everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feelin that it brings

Rene Decartes shows that self-intellect is the most important thing a person should have. He doesn't like it when people just go off of what philosophers and what the church tells people to do. He feels that people start to only believe what they say and then that gives people narrowed views on a topic when they should be able to think in a large general way. Decartes does not feel that everyone should know all the information about all topics and that sometimes their is guidance needed, but never should someone just hear one persons view on an argument and then make that their own stance. They should use the guidance as a guide and that is all and then form their own self opinions. This is shown when Decartes says "So my aim here is not to teach the method that everyone must follow for the right conduct of his reason, but only to show in what way I have tried to conduct mine." Decartes holds self-intellect very high on what every human should have and he will disagree with anything that tries to take individuality out of people's opinions.
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One's Own Path

In Rene Decartes book, A Discourse on the Method, he seeks to show people that they need to use their own intelligence to find what is the truth. However, he does not wish for those people to just blindly jump to conclusions and become single minded and think that their own way is the only right way. This is why he frowns upon the church and philosophers. They all believe that their way of thinking is correct and become single minded. Rene Decartes seeks to promote the idea of thinking with an open mind to all possible answers, not just one's own, and respecting the answers of others “So my aim here is not to teach the method that everyone must follow for the right conduct of his reason, but only to show in what way I have tried to conduct mine,” (6). He wants people to use their intelligence to spread the knowlege around so as to make all of the people better. This is done to attempt to break the two different types of minds that Decartes believes exists, the minds of people who have too much confidence in their own intelligence and the minds of people who only follow the "intelligent people." He wants everybody to realize the fact that people are all intelligent on some level“Good sense is the most evenly distributed thing in the world” (Descartes 5). This fact however can be debated but according to Decartes beliefs, people should be open minded and not think like that.

I believe that in A Discourse on the Methods, René Descartes is showing how self-intellect is very important to him. He is concerned about people having a strong foundation for their beliefs. He states “I concluded that nothing solid could have been built on such shaky foundations” (10). He is describing how many disciplines just take knowledge and ideas from philosophers and use them as fact, without any further thought of their own.

Descartes comments how “I learned not to believe too firmly in anything that only example and custom had persuaded me of” (11). This is a similar ideal to that of Socrates when he was questioning Euthyphro. It is important to both Socrates and Descartes that people understand the things that they put so much faith in. they urge people not to follow philosophers with blind loyalty, but to think for yourself and discover on your own terms what is true. In part 1, Descartes tells how, no matter how much literature he read, he never really learned anything for himself, he was just accepting other’s words as fact. Thusly, he abandoned all this reading and literature and set out for 9 years of traveling to experience things for himself.

Rene Descartes

It appears that Descartes holds a similar opinion regarding knowledge as Socrates. For instance, throughout the first three parts of Descartes Discourse on the Method, he details his travels to various cultures, and he uses each experience to challenge and solidify his own opinions. Because, as Descartes points out in the beginning of the reading, all men have the equal ability to judge, but “we have different ways of directing our thoughts, and do not take into account the same things” (5). So, the experience of a singular culture does not guarantee in any way the correctness of an idea, but rather each society should be utilized so as to examine every perspective of the topic at hand. Descartes then emphasizes that with this challenged and subsequently strengthened knowledge, we should be sure to act upon it. “The most important thing, is to apply it correctly” (5). So, as Descartes outlines the methods by which he has reached this conclusion, he hopes the Discourse on the Method will be used as a guideline for others to discover the same. In effect, Descartes appears to be concerned with two main things. One, is to emphasize that opinions should be challenged and explored and solidified so that the subsequent knowledge can applied. Second, the Discourse is intended specifically to guide people in the method by which Descartes reached this conclusion that regards the appropriateness of how life should be lived.

Storytime

I believe in the book A Discourse on the Method, Descartes is trying to get across a point. In part one, I believe he is trying to portray and paint a picture of his early childhood. He goes on to say on page 6, “…in this essay, I shall gladly reveal the paths I have followed and paint my life as it were in a picture, so that everyone may come to a judgement about it.” Also, I believe that Descartes is also trying to introduce a new of thinking and teach and or educate people about his positions. After my first quote, he goes on to say, “I shall add a new way of acquiring knowledge to those which I habitually employ.” Also, he goes on to say, “So my aim here is not to teach the method that everyone must follow for the right conduct of his reason, but only to show in what way I have tried to conduct mine.” These quotes I believe just supported my argument on what Descartes is trying to say early on in his book. In part two, I believe he continues telling a story and painting a picture of his life. He starts off part two by telling the story of his hiatus and arrival at Germany for the wars and keeps telling the stories. The way I interpreted was that Descartes was just trying to give some background on his life to set up chapters later in the book.

Descartes

Rene Descartes writes his essay ­A Discourse on the Method on the importance of using your intelligence and making the most of what you are given. He says, “So my aim here is not to teach the method that everyone must follow for the right conduct of his reason, but only to show in what way I have tried to conduct mine,” (6). He wrote the essay with intentions of others using it as a sort of step-stool towards good actions yet not to follow verbatim. He feels everyone has their own mind and should use it to its full potential, and some just need help being guided in the right direction.
Descartes feels there is nothing more discouraging than a great mind that is not used to its full potential. He quotes “it is not enough to possess a good mind, the most important thing is to apply it correctly,” (5). One who possesses a high IQ but chooses to not study or apply themselves Descartes feels is a waste of potential and he feels it is wrong to those who were not blessed with the gift but use what knowledge they do have to the best of their power. Knowledge is an incredible gift and if used right is a gift to more than one. The magic and power can be spread throughout a community and that is exactly what Descartes wanted.

Challenge

Descartes cares about reasoning. He wants people to actively think about what they are doing and have a clear method and steps instead of simply going through the motions that someone else instructed them to perform. He says “…There are those who, believing themselves cleverer than they are, cannot stop themselves jumping to conclusions, and do not have enough patience to govern their thoughts in an orderly way…Second, there are those who…must content themselves with following the opinions of others rather than seeking better ones from themselves,” (15). With this quote Descartes is telling you what he cares about. He wants people to make up their own minds and use their own ideas, but to do it in a way that is logical so other people will be able to understand it. He continues with this when he says “The first was never to accept anything as true that I did not incontrovertibly know to be so…and to include nothing in my judgments other than that which presented itself to my mind so clearly and distinctly, that I would have no occasion to doubt it.
“...The third was to conduct my thoughts in a given order, beginning with the simplest and most easily understood objects, and gradually ascending…to the knowledge of the most complex…” (17). This makes it clear that Descartes cares about thinking for yourself, but documenting your steps in a way that will allow others to go back and follow what you have done and recreate it. Descartes wants people to challenge what they accept as true and try to come up with an alternative, as long as it is well documented.

Rene Descartes states the purpose of his essay right on page six. He states, “So my aim here is not to teach the method that everyone must follow for the right conduct of his reason, but only to show in what way I have tried to conduct mine,” (6). He wants his essay to be a useful guide to people for actions they should imitate, and not follow.

However, I believe Descartes is concerned with how people utilize their minds. He wanted to be very clear that each person is given the same tools for success (good sense and reason). Descartes said, “The diversity of our opinions arises not from the fact that some of us are more reasonable than others, but solely that we have different ways of directing our thoughts, and do not take into account the same things. For it is not enough to possess a good mind, the most important thing is to apply it correctly,” (5).

By telling people his story, he is encouraging them to use their own minds and form their own conclusions. Descartes wants people to gain as much knowledge as they can in their life time and reap all the benefits from it. As Anya said, he wants people to know how to use their intelligence and interpret their learning’s with it.

In his essay, A Discourse on the Method, Descartes is concerned for the common good of the people. He wants people to get as much out of their lives as possible, and live their lives to the fullest extent by learning.

Triumph of Experience

One of the more minor notes about Descartes' text is the avocation of equality among men that he emphasizes in the first few pages. He feels that all men have been created with the same amount of reason and that there is no aristocracy of inherent understanding as had been suggested in the past. This seemed to stray a bit from his thesis about his own reasoning, but was probably added just so he could come off a humble. The heart of his writing was the fact that he feels a formal education leaves the curious mind hungry for more knowledge. He seems to feel that the various subjects and histories he learned in his schooling are irrelevant to his life in his time and separate him from what is going on around him. To soothe this academic hunger he decided to leave his education in favor of traveling the world to gain his knowledge first hand. This represents Descartes' values in the field of knowledge and wisdom. He feels that true knowledge can only be gained through one's own first hand experience and that it is far more valuable than simply knowing facts from civilizations past. This has a number of implications, as it redefines what knowlege is and who is knowledgable. So it is not the Stanford graduate with a 4.0 GPA, but the plumber who has worked all over the United States that is more intelligent by Descartes' definition. And it will typically be the old who are more intelligent than the youth, as they have likely been many more places and done many more things. This is not set in stone, however, as if the old person was a shut in their entire life. Descartes would likely consider them rather stupid. It is an interesting claim Descartes makes and one that is not entirely valid in my view.

Descartes Skyline

Rene Descartes is a very interesting person to read about. His style of writing portrays a man who is intelligent, but is modest about it and does not brag. While reading the parts one, two and three in his A Discourse on the Method, what he cares about most is the application of one’s mind.

This is what Descartes cares about most because he makes many references to it within those three sections. He even begins his book with a statement about intelligence: “Good sense is the most evenly distributed thing in the world” (Descartes 5). This sets the rest of the book up to hear about intelligence and mind application. Descartes discusses the two types of minds: the ones who are overly confident on their intelligence, and the ones who follow the overly confident ones. This proves that Descartes spends much time deciphering what people think and feel about opinions and how they express that feeling.

Descartes wants each human to use their mind well; not blindly following opinions of others, but searching for our own answers while simultaneously not jumping to our own conclusions. He says that although intelligence is wide spread, not many people know how to use it correctly which, as he points out, can be a problem, especially when it comes to interpretations.

This is what Descartes cares about because he is trying to end some conflict which seems to be similar to the Galileo/Church conflict. But Descartes is attempting to end to conflict from a different approach, one of trying to lead people to learn to interpret things with an open mind. Maybe we could all learn a little something from Descartes and apply it to our daily lives.

Blog Assn #22: Descartes

Please post on the following by 8 PM Tuesday night.

"Skyline" time again: What does Descartes' ­A Discourse on the Method indicate about what most matters to him?

religion and science

There are definitely conflicts between religion and science. I think that one of the biggest conflicts right now is the dispute between evolution and intelligent design. Many people believe that humans first began existing with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. However, now more recent evidence are starting to convince people that we evolved from apes and came out of Africa. There has been such a big change in views on this issue that now evolution is being taught in schools. I don’t think that we can follow the Bible literally at all times. There are some things that I believe that are just meant to be metaphors. In Galileo’s time people believed that God made the sun to revolve around the earth, but we know now that that is not true. There are also many treatments that are offered to patients that are against their religious views, such as blood transfusions. Religion operates more on faith while science operates more on physical evidence, and I think that is why more people are turning away from religion. People want to be sure of things, so they look for the facts in many situations, and science looks to provide these facts. When these facts don’t go along with what religion says, more people begin to give up their faith. There are definitely many conflicting issues with science and religion.

Mitchell no longer sounds like death!

Galileo makes several interesting points in terms of science and religion in his letter to the Grand Duchess Christina. Within the first two paragraphs, Galileo writes that scientists have no right quoting the Bible, especially if they are going to misquote and not-understand the Bible. However, as his arguments progress, he cedes that the Bible may be quoted as long as the user fully understands the meaning of what he or she means to say using the quote. In fact, Galileo uses a quote from the Bible early on in his argument to the Grand Duchess. He says, "...we ought not to believe anything inadvisedly on a dubious point, lest in favor to our error we conceive a prejudice against something that truth hereafter may reveal to be not contrary in any way..." (173). Galileo manages to use a Bible quote correctly to further his logical argument, while the others attempt to just beat him over the head with the Bible. Further into his letter to the Grand Duchess, Galileo’s argument gets more heated. He claims that priests and people of the church would have followers abandon their views just to test to see if they’d follow, even if it is a misinterpretation. Looking at the way his argument is constructed, this is probably not far from the truth. Galileo claims that, “they would have us altogether abandon reason and the evidence of our sense in favor of some biblical passage, though under the surface meaning of its words this passage may contain a different sense” (179). An interesting example of this is the not-so-recent chalkings at Ursinus. I have heard many groups complain that the Leviticus quotes are not so much offensive as they are misquoting the Bible’s true meaning in the phrase. Galileo is making the same argument here as he tries to separate the poor religious arguments from true scientific arguments.

Cassie likes to cough on people and get them sick

In my opinion, I do not think that it is possible to compare both science and religion. Science uses logic, reason and lots of evidence to come up with the answers to people questions. This is a vital part of our life and it is the main bases for our society. However, there are some answers that science has not yet been able to answer, and that is where religion comes in. People hate not knowing answers to questions and they feel like they need an answer. So when the question comes up "What happens when we die?" science can't find an answer with the facts to answer the question. So people turn to religion and religion answers the question, for example if you live a good life you go to heaven and if you live a bad life you go to hell. There are also some questions like "how we were made?" and religion also helps answer this question saying god created us all. Overall I feel that religion and science were to have a conflict it would be that religion has no evidence for their answers and science criticises them for not having evidence, but I think that the main conflict between science and religion is that religion answers the questions that science can't answer.