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Note | Philosophy of René Descartes

Originator of the Modern Philosophy

René Descartes was the originator of the modern philosophy. Also he was a polymath made great contributions in mathematics and physics. He opened up the new frontier and the starting point of modern philosophy and modern science, and made the basic method, rule and questions of modern philosophy. But he left many problems behind.

Methodological Skepticism

From his youth, Descartes questioned and searched the truth and the certainty of philosophy and science. But he felt, on mathematics, especially arithmetic and geometry, there’s a special certainty of human knowledge. So he pursued the certainty like mathematics on philosophy and all sciences.

Descartes’ point of arrival is the methodological skepticism and the principles of “Cogito ergo sum”. The methodological skepticism is an intentional doubt on all knowledge and things to acquire the truth and certainty. To produce the positive and reliable philosophy and science, Descartes strongly doubted temporarily and eliminated all doubtful and uncertain things beforehand. On positive philosophical system, there should not be an uncertain thing.

1 – Descartes regard external things and internal senses as uncertain. 2 – He regard the reality as uncertain. Because during we see a dream, I can’t comprehend it is dream or reality. When I wake up, I comprehend it is a dream. 3 – The mathematical truth may be uncertain, because the omnipotent and omniscient God has the power to deceive me. 4 – Then all things are doubtful and there is no certain thing. But my thinking is here, is not nothing. Doubt for my own thinking repeats, and my thinking can’t be removed on this consideration, like “Are all things dream ?”, “I am deceived by the God ?” So my thinking is certain, and I must exist by thinking. Then Descartes states “I think therefore I am.” (Cogito ergo sum. « Je pense, donc je suis. ») is undoubtedly and certain.

The import characteristics of Descartes’ skepticism is which is a starting point of philosophical study, not an end like Pyrrho’s skepticism. Pyrrho’s is epoché (suspension of judgment) to obtain a calmness of mind. Descartes’ skepticism is an intentional method to find a certain thing for philosophy and science.

Existence of God

From cogito, at first, Descartes certified the existence of God. For the present, the God is an idea of us, and the possible content of the God is the infinite substance. The “infinity” isn’t generated by human as a finite being. The infinity must be generated by infinite being, so the God is exist.

The God is the perfect being, so he must exist. The existential concept of the God is more perfect than possible beings or nothing. Also the God is the perfect good, so the God don’t deceive us. So there’s the God’s integrity, and exist of beings of the world is certified.

Subject / Object Dichotomy

Then contrary to the way of the methological skepticism, Descartes concerned things and beings of the external world. I exist precede (a priori) to external world. The world exists owing to my conscience and is a result of my thinking.

On Descartes’ thought, human conscience is a subject, and the external world is an object. So all of things in the world are object for men to percept and to think. And the reason of exist of things is me.

This Descartes’ subject-object dichotomy and the thought of “all things are perceptional objects” became a basis of the positive science by survey, observation and experiment. Also it drove scientific researches and became a basic thought of the modern society which control the nature by technology.

Dualism of Mind and Body

By Descartes’ thought, subject is a pure being of thinking (mental substance, res cogitans). Descartes explained by the wax argument, essence of physical things is extension which occupies certain space (extended and unthinking substance, res extensa). This view is called foundationalism.

Also by Descartes skepticism, my body is dubious thing. Human body is also an extension and an object. So Descartes regard body as a delicate machine, and it resulted the theory of Man a Machine (L’homme-machine).

The Problem of Descartes

Conclusion

References

René Descartes, Discours de la méthode (Édition j’ai lu, 2013)

Paul Strathern, Descartes in 90 Minutes (Ivan R. Dee, 1996)

Tom Sorell, Descartes: A Very Short Instroduction (Oxford University Press, 2001)

Jean-François Revel, Histoire de la philosophie occidentale (Nil Éditions, 1994)

Luc Ferry & Claude Capelier, La plus belle histoire de la philosophie (Éditions Points, 2014)

Roger-Pol Droit, Une brève histoire de la philosophie (Flammarion, 2008)

Bertrand Russell, The History of Western Philosophy (Simon & Schuster, 1972)

Nigel Warburton, A Little History of Philosophy (Yale University Press, 2011)

Roger Scruton, A Short History of Modern Philosophy (Routledge, 2002)

Gen Kida, History of Anti-Philosophy (Kodansha Academic Library, 2000)

Seiji Takeda, An Adventure on The Contemporary Thought (Chikuma Arts-and-Science Library, 1992)

Seiji Takeda, An Introduction to Philosophy: To Know Thyself (Chikuma Arts-and-Science Library, 1993)

Shigeto Nuki, Illustrated & Standard History of Philosophy (Shinshokan, 2008)

Shigeto Nuki, Philosophy Map (Chikuma New Books, 2004)

Sumihiko Kumano, The History of Western Philosophy: From The Modern Ages to The Present Day (Iwanami New Books, 2006)

Thierry Paquot & François Pépin, Dictionnaire Larousse de la Philosophie (Éditions Larousse, 2011)

Simon Blackburn, The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition Revised), (Oxford University Press, 2008)

Robert Audi, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition), (Cambridge University Press, 1995)

Thomas Mautner, The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition), (Penguin Books, 2005)

Note | Philosophy of Aristotle

Contributor to Every Fields of the Human Knowledge

Aristotle is the greatest philosophers, and one of the greatest polymaths in the human history. He researched on all of knowledge from today’s natural science to social science and humanities, for example biology, natural history, physics, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, logic, rhetoric, psychology and politics. And his noteworthy achievement is the inquires on the system of knowledge, being, activity and logic.

Aristotle collected and organized theories of Greek philosophy till Socrates and Plato, and give back philosophy to Presocratic natural study, also he adopted Socratic ethical thought and modified Plato’s philosophy.

Metaphysics

Aristotle was a most eminent pupil of Plato, and he criticized Plato’s philosophy and critically succeed it. Aristotle inspected the defect of Plato’s theory of forms and modified it. He turned around Plato’s idealistic view and presented his realistic view, also grasp the natural things and world. And he planned to moderate Presocratic natural philosophy and Plato’s theory of ideas.

On Plato’s theory of forms, we can’t confirm existence of the world of idea, and on the theory of forms, the connection between form and things is unclear. And the theory of forms apply only productive and artificial things (things can exist by techne), can’t apply natural things (things can exist by physis). Aristotle inquired the changes and transformations of things, also tried to construct a theory covers natural things and the nature.

Different to Plato’s idealistic and abstract theory of forms, Aristotle thought each things and existences should be grasped concretely. The four causes theory describe all ousia (independent being or substance, or subject of a sentence) are made by a combination of eidos, hyle, dynamis and entelecheia

Aristotle thought all things have aspects of eidos (form or essence) and hyle (matter, stuff or existence). Eidos is formal cause of things and hyle is material cause of things.

Plato thought a connection between a thing (matter) and an idea (eidos) is accidental and external. But Aristotle thought hyle includes eidos as a potentially. The potentiality is named dynamis (agent, potentiality and efficient). Dynamis is moving cause of things, and the state is realized by it is named entelecheia (actuality, end or purpose).

All things are understood, have dynamis and entelecheia, and are relative between them. A tree is a purpose of a seed, also is potentiality of a material wood. A material wood is an actuality of a tree, also a potentiality of a desk. A desk is an actuality of a wood, also an agent of writing or working.

By Aristotle’s view is biological, and all things are moving. All things or existences are in the teleological moving to realize potentiality is in each of things. And this moving of things is caused by the power of gods. For Aristotle, to see this moving or changing is to feel gods’ grace. So Aristotle called his metaphysics “theology”.

Ethics

Aristotle’s teleological view to the nature relates to his practical philosophy or ethics. He thinks good men can be wise and virtuous only by experiences of praxis, like the moving of things. He thought moral and ethics can’t teach for children, only adult can study them.

Ethics treats the aspect of praxis (practice or action) in which the internal function itself of beings which works and realizes. In a scene of praxis, the problem is human nature and the virtue. On the other hand, virtue is not opposite to the nature, but is not given by the nature. Men can be virtuous to perceive the nature, and to complete the human nature by habits. Ethics is a point joins the nature and techne. Virtue is a kind of habit made by the human nature, become the second nature, it means virtue is ethos (characteristics, habit) of human.

The human proper property different to other creatures and things is logos (discretion or reason). Aristotle thought happiness is realized when logos in a spirit performs on a scene of praxis.

And the supreme good state by Aristotle, is theoria (theory), the stable state such as perception, reflection or meditation to see and appreciate changing of things and praxis by logos.

Problems of Aristotlian Philosophy

Aristotle made a great achievement and contribution in philosophy, but he remained many problems on philosophy.

He organized all theories of Greek philosophy, and constructed a huge system of philosophy. But he made philosophy complexed. Philosophy after Aristotle to the modern philosophy, became interpretation and argument about Aristotle’s philosophy. Especially the medieval scholasticism solely adapted and harmonized Christian theology and Aristotle’s philosophy. The problem of universals was the argument about which is important essentia (Aristotle’s eidos) or existentia (hyle) for a long time.

Plato’s theory of ideas is a total universal monism system, can explain being, changing, moral, beauty and politics. Aristotle made a total system of philosophy and science, but he divided science and philosophy into many subjects and branches. And there are different principles is in each subjects and branches, he thought.

Also his thinking of the divide of the static principle of metaphysics and the world of theoria from the biological changeable world left many problems in philosophy.

References

Hiroyuki Ogino, Symposion of Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle (NHK Publishing, 2003)

Jonathan Barnes, Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2000)