Discourse on the Method by René Descartes SUMMARY
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Doxa and Episteme presents a summary of René Descartes' extraordinary work: The Discourse on the Method.
Descartes was a soldier, mathematician, philosopher, and scientist. He was born into a wealthy family in France in 1596 and died in 1650. He studied the writings of Plato, Aristotle, and the early Christian philosophers, like every student of his time. But he dedicated himself especially to mathematics, and by the age of 21, he already knew practically everything there was to know in the field. In this video, we will learn about Cartesian philosophy and Descartes' four rules for arriving at the truth. Sometimes translated as "Discourse on Method" or "Discourse on the Method for Guiding Reason Well in the Search for Truth within Science" (in French, "Discourse on the Method for Guiding Reason Well in the Search for Truth in Science"), it is a mathematical and philosophical treatise by René Descartes, published in Leiden, Netherlands, in 1637. It initially appeared alongside his other works, "Dioptrique," "Météores," and "Géométrie." A Latin translation was produced in 1656 and published in Amsterdam.
Along with "Meditationes de Prima Philosophia," "Principles of Philosophy," and "Regulae ad Directionem Ingenii," it constitutes the foundation of the philosopher's epistemology, a system that came to be known as Cartesianism. The "Discourse" proposes a quasi-mathematical model for guiding human thought, since mathematics is characterized by certainty, the absence of doubt. According to Descartes himself, part of the inspiration for his method (described in this treatise) came from three dreams he had on the night of November 10–11, 1619: in these dreams, "the idea of a universal method for finding truth" had occurred to him.
The Discourse on the Method was written in the vernacular (philosophical texts were usually written in Latin), in a non-doctrinal manner, as Descartes sought to popularize the concepts expressed therein as much as possible, and in a manner that was not imposing but rather shared. The authority of reason permeates the entire work, a banal concept for modern man, but somewhat new for medieval man (much more accustomed to ecclesiastical authority). The authority of the senses (that is, perceptions of the world) is also particularly rejected; meaningful knowledge, according to the treatise, can only be attained by reason, abstracting from the distractions of the senses. One of the best-known lines from the Discourse is "Je pense, donc je suis" (often quoted in Latin, cogito ergo sum; I think, therefore I am): the act of doubting as indubitable, and the evidence of "thinking" and "being" linked.
Besides this conclusion, Descartes also presents arguments for the existence of God, specifies criteria for the proper conduct of reason, and provides some demonstrations.