3.2 - Philosophy Flashcards
René Descartes
Published the illustrated model of the retinal image by Kepler. He was interested in what Kepler was not. He was the very natural philosopher to whom Kepler left the problem of what happened to the image one it registered itself on the retina. He did for modern philosophy what Bacon had done for science, so he was called the ´father of modern philosophy´
he used doubt as a point of departure and philosophical debate. he began with a series of questions that led him to doubt the existence of everything (was there anything at all he could know with certainty)? his answer was that the only thing he could conceive of clearly and distinctly (his 2 essential criteria), was that he existed as a doubting entity (cogito, ergo sum).
He allowed that one thing he could know for sure about the material world is that it too exists. he believed there was a division between mind and matter. matter could be studied mathematically and scientifically and its behaviour predicted by the new science of physics. how the mind knows something is altogether different (the sun appears small but we know from scientific observation that it is large). knowledge cannot rest on perception alone.
at the end he said : what is clearly and distinctly perceived by the mind must be true.
How did the thinking of philosophical thinkers of ´how to rule´ lead england to become a limited monarchy?
during the baroque age the question of how to govern, occupied philosophical thinkers > in england situation reached a crisis point when charles I challenged parliament´s identity as the king´s partner in rule > civil war erupted > in 1649 a Commonwealth was established led by Oliver Cromwell > monarchy was restored in 1600 after the republic failed, but relationship between parliament and monarch remained murky > in 1668 james II was expelled in the ´glorious revolution´ and his daughter and son-in-law ascended the throne > accepted the rights of all citizens under the law (exercise authority over financial matters) > england became a limited monarchy.
Thomas Hobbe.
the debate about who should govern and how was addressed by 2 political philosophers with very different points of view, descartes and thomas hobbes.
As a classicist, he was impressed by the geometry of Euclid and came to believe the reasoning on which geometry is based could be extended to social and political life.
After visiting Galileo he was even more convinced this was true (because of his power of science of observation).
He published his philosophy in a book in 1651 called Leviathan, it would be red by many as an apology or defense of monarchical rule. He believed humands are driven by 2 primal forces (fear of death and desire for power). if the gov does nothing to check these impulses, humankind self-destructs. without govs,, a man´s natural state wars. he also believed that humans recognize their essential depravity and therefore choose to be governed. they enter into the ´social contract´ (by which the peoplechoose to give up sovereignty over themselved ans bestow it on a ruler).
despite this beliefe he attacked the idea of the divine right of kings. In this he was branded a hectic, if not atheist.
John Locke
believed people are perfectly capable of governing themselves. In his ´essay on human understanding´ be argues that the human mind is a tabula rasa or a blank slate. he stated :
- our environment as opposed to our heredity and our reason as opposed to our faith fill this blank slate with learning as the person develops.
- argued in his ´second theatrise on government´ that humans are by nature free, equal and independent. such ideas set the stage for the political revolutions of the 18th century.
