Descartes and His Search for Knowledge: Or Methodical Doubt Conformity

At the end of the first book of Meditations, Rene Descartes reasoned:

Assume, therefore, that there is a God optimum source of truth, but some evil genius of extreme power and intelligence makes every effort to make me err believe that the sky, air, earth, colors, shapes, and all external sounds are but delusions of dreams which has put a helmet on my credulity, consider that I have no hands, no eyes, no flesh, no blood, but I owe it all to a false view of mine, will remain therefore, holding on to this meditation and thus, though I know something real is allowed, I will try at least with resolute decision, since it is in my hand, not attest to things prevent this false and deceptive, however strong and ready, can instill anything. But this attempt is filled with work, and some laziness brings me to my ordinary life as the prisoner who dreams of enjoying an imaginary freedom, when he begins to suspect that he was sleeping, fears that he wakes up and is turning a blind eye to these sweet dreams, and I slip voluntarily to my old beliefs and I dread waking up, lest after the peaceful rest has to pass the laborious evening not in any light but the darkness intractable problems raised ¹ Before commenting say the alert Descartes launches the threat methodical doubt, we should remember to put us two points marked on the subject.

The first is on them, his Meditations, which are composed of six parts, meditations and books. I share with you the outline done on the contents of each of her in order to analyze their reading.

Meditation 1

Situations that lead us to confusion and error. The "evil genius". In his written synopsis (prior to his six meditations, the author wrote a summary of them), "outlines the reasons why we doubt everything."

Meditation 2

Argument for the existence of God. If we are aware of us, we have from God. If we know the imperfect, we know of God, being perfect. In his treatise synopsis referred to as "the immortality of the soul." The Meditation: nothing is more recognizable with evidence that the mind.

Meditation 3

Proof of the existence of God: an argument about the existence of the world. In his synopsis: "argument to prove the existence of God."

Meditation 4

Reality and perception. In its synopsis: "It proves that everything we perceive clearly and distinctly is true" In meditation, "the contemplation of God himself, considering his attributes, and look, admire and adore the beauty of that light." Research on the cause of error and falsehood.

Meditation 5

Argument for the existence of God: if you can think, there. In its synopsis: to "explain the corporeal nature taken generally, it demonstrates the existence of God in a new way." In meditation, "if anything is clear to me mind, is absolutely true, "The existence of physical things and God (not physical, but mental, primary).

Meditation 6

Discourse on the dualism: good and evil. In his synopsis: "separates the intellect from the imagination, describes the signs of that distinction, it is proved that the soul really distinguished body." Soul-body distinction.



The second point is about the historical moment he lived Descartes (1.596-1650), time of revolution, a change in mental attitudes, the collapse of entrenched paradigms. Time for complete change, both material (material forms of life: Industrial Revolution, Capitalism ) and epistemology (questioning of Aristotelian cosmology).

The world then, Renaissance, is an attitude of outcrop of the new, spiritual renewal, but is also made of concrete change, when the company goes to the same historical evolution toward industrial. Is not only a sense of change mental attitudes, but an experience de facto, of Verifiable changing world the simple look. In other words, is what is called modernity, ² man and this time as opposed to the old and dismantled. The new versus the old, was the time when men began to be settled in the famous diatribe of ancient versus modern.

The blow had struck epistemological foundation Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) ³ gin with his new science of "lies" Aristotelian, which led thinkers to conclude that the world had lived for centuries under the delusion (beyond even the same Aristotle), testing a scientific conception of life based on their own miscalculation of the senses.

In such a sense of what was lost or wrong, under the limited exploration of the senses ─ ─ speculate that participate René Descartes and Francis Bacon (1561-1626), who in his philosophical discipline devoted to thinking a method not err in its purpose of finding the truth, nor in their subsequent generation of certain knowledge. In the Meditations Descartes philosophically systematized his account of the new method of finding truths, as well as worries Bacon (New Body Science) by minimize human mistake in criticizing the Aristotelian logic and method, and to bequeath to posterity, specifically, his warnings about the prejudices of man perverters factors of reality. Tales (Galileo, Descartes and Bacon), with their positions and work , are the creators of modernity, as they are known.

Now you might ask against what danger to prevent Descartes methodical doubt. The text in question is understood about the connotation of the times in which he lived and the consequent philosophical anguish generated in his person, which thwarted the possibility of reaching certainty in knowledge, more so if the impediments encyst in human nature itself, in the "sweet dreams" of the senses (as he says) and the cultural context of man (the "old beliefs"), to where man is voluntarily pulled up so as not to face the difficulties of the "darkness" that involves challenging the provisions made.

The danger is complacency. He who lives by no doubt and accepted as a given that surrounds him and how much is said about what surrounds you. Who do not conform intricate philosophy and fears in the darkness of the "issues raised" because of the questions or inquiries. I could never sleep and tranquility, because philosophy is primarily an exercise of the doubt, and you can understand that it is doubtful that displancentero accept what is agreed is the world and the universe. Consider no more to Galileo Galilei, who received his sentence for violating the "great truths" Aristotle: arrested, tried and sentenced to renounce his findings.

The Descartes methodical doubt is a proposal to the deception that both culture (world) is misleading as felt in man. It is the first step to address philosophically methodical life, the world, the infinity of truths that can hide behind a universe, and discover them. Question regarding one has been taught and have heard about search as a primary foundation of reality. not otherwise be prevented from such ancient deceptions and paradigmatic, as Aristotle. Copernicus and Galileo: go , well, the known world was no longer the center of anything! Human senses were no longer the measure of all things ... like the old schemes propagated.

The proposal seeks the truth in every time and place will easily push the epistemological obstacle of life, their daily life and simple truths that come to our ears and construct "realities". It's called "Dream of Life" sweet illusion, against which prevents Descartes because man does not want to wake him. As if to say that sweet, pleasing and easy is the known as opposed to rocky and intricate that may be the consideration or finding a new reality.

The proposal itself is nothing new, but never developed as a system, as did the philosopher. Vieja is the idea of ​​forgetting what they learn to truly learn, figuratively back to the condition of the child to enter the kingdom of heaven (to find truth) and Jesus of Nazareth as recommended, and also, contemporaneously with Descartes, Francis Bacon proposed it when he said "will not go into the kingdom of man on this earth which is the science, and not enter the Kingdom of the Heavens, if we turn to us children. "

To a philosopher, asleep on the flow of life is not life choice, but no, while the world may be the decoration of a farce. Its mission is to detect truths doubt or deception, and assume that this may include his life is a fiction (as did Descartes himself) so as not to be swayed by the "dream of life."

_______ ¹ Rene Descartes: Meditations [complete meditations Descartes] [online]. - Trad. Antonio José Miguez. - [S.F.]. - Http://www.scribd.com/doc/37686804/Meditaciones-Metafiscas [also here, complete document, request free membership to be copyrighted material: http://docuapoyo.blogspot.com/2009/10/ meditations-complete-de-descartes.html? zx = e3481da535e0f1a0]. - [See: 17 Nov 2010]. ² Oscar J. Camero: "Modernity, attitude change and novelty" [online]. - In Blogxistencia, living and thinking about it. - [S.F.]. - Http://blogxistencia.blogspot.com/2010/05/modernidad-actitud-de-cambio-y-novedad.html. - [See: 17 Nov 2010]. ³ And Nicholas Copernicus in advance, and his heliocentric theory.