Descartes Flashcards
What did Descartes admire of Sparta?
Descartes admired that all of the laws in effect in Sparta were all created by the same person and led to a single end, which is in line with his theory about perfection only being achieved when created by one single person.
Descartes Original Tenant
That very few things put together by many people over time have as much perfection as whatever original work they were building on.
Did Descartes think that everyone should follow his example? Why or why not?
No he doesn’t because he believes that people who have a stronger foundation (or as he puts: who God has granted a greater genius) will have a stronger foundation to build off of.
What was Descartes analogy for calibrating his ideas?
Descartes compares his idea of rebuilding a set of ideas to rebuilding a town, you can’t go around tearing down a bunch of buildings just so they can all look similar. While it does happen, it shouldn’t be done regularly. The point he is making with this comparison is that you still need your foundation to make the town a good town.
Four Rules Descartes Set Up For Himself To Reexamine His Ideas
Accept nothing as true
Divide everything into simple parts
Move from the simple to the complex
Test your reasoning
What subjects did Descartes seem to admire in particular? Why was he so enamored of them?
He seemed to admire the STEM subjects, in particular branches of math such as geometry and algebra, as well as philosophy.
How old did Descartes say he was when he first undertook this rigorous self-examination?
Young Adult (In his twenties probably)
What Was Descartes’ First Maxim?
to obey the laws and customs of his country, as that will be who and what he is surrounded by over the course of his life, building on the religion he’s been instructed on, and governing himself in everything else according to the most commonly accepted ways of being, so he is never too far off from the truth.
What Was Descartes’ Second Maxim?
to follow even the most doubtful opinions with equal fervor, as even if you doubt them, they are likely to land you somewhere that is more concrete and more sensical than doubting everything.
What Was Descartes’ Third Maxim?
conquering yourself rather than a fortune and changing your desires as opposed to your outcome. Descartes believed that if he was able to stop wanting something he couldn’t have for reasons outside of his control, then he would stop ceaselessly focusing on what he couldn’t do. Instead, he would have time to contemplate other things, such as his opinions and beliefs (note this is similar to wu-wei, but without the philosophical turnaround).
What Was Descartes’ Fourth Maxim?
reviewing the various occupations in life, starting with your own, as everyone has been given their own light to distinguish truths from falsehoods.
Which arguments allowed Descartes to come to the Cogito?
He essentially reverses what he’s been doing (assuming anything that could be true is true) and instead assumes that everything that might not be true isn’t true.
Which arguments allowed Descartes to define and assert the existence of God?
He defines the existence of God because in his search for perfection in his ideas he realizes that there is only perfection because of the fact that there is a perfect being for us all to work towards.
Which arguments allow Descartes to conclude that our senses are almost certainly unreliable?
Since God allows us to see and sense, and those sense can be blurry or imperfect, just as we humans are in the face of God, our sense must be wrong/
