René Descartes: Father of Philosophy, Essay Example

René Descartes was a giant in the field of philosophy, the field that examines the study of principles underlying conduct, thought, and nature of the universe (Rotz.) There are many different theories of philosophy that have been promoted by a variety of great thinkers.  Two major philosophers who have similar but distinct theories of knowledge concerning one’s existence, the mind, body and soul are Descartes and Socrates.  Descartes promoted the theory of rationalism, or the principle that knowledge about reality can be attained by reason alone without turning to experience, and the belief that human knowledge can be completely contained within a single system.  In addition, rationalism believes that knowledge and truth can be established by rational thought rather than divine or supernatural revelation (Rotz.) This paper will discuss the difference between the two philosophers, the essential difference being whether the soul can achieve true knowledge before or after death, with a focus on Descartes’ writings and philosophy.

Socrates believed in the immortality of the soul, so that people who practice philosophy properly do so for the purposes of death and dying.  He felt that if a person has done more good than harm in his life, one should feel good about his own soul; Descartes believed that this is naive because the body is easily deceived because the senses are fallible.  Whenever we might believe we are seeing and perceiving through the senses, such as color or size or smell, are distorted by the body’s interpretation of the physical sensation.  Both philosophers believed that the man who can discover truth is he who approaches the subject rationally, without being distracted by the sounds and visions of the eyes and ears.  In the First Meditation, Descartes expresses that whenever he has believed as true in the past, he acquired through the senses has discovered that they are deceptive and cannot be trusted.

Descartes believes that the way that we can examine life, the universe, and arrive at an objective truth is by mandating all previously held beliefs emanate from the mind and body.  This way, the world can be viewed in an honest light in order to pursue a better life.  He believes that achieving truth and perfect knowledge were a realistic goal.  Socrates, rather, felt that if people are ever going to have pure knowledge they must leave the body and observe manner themselves through only the soul.  The Socratic view was that the only way that the soul can be separated from the actual body is by dying.  The essential difference between their views was that although an objective truth could be attained through the soul, which was independent of the mind, Socrates believed that the knowledge could only be attained after death, while Descartes believed that pure knowledge was the power with which the soul can face death.

Descartes is often referred to as the Father of Philosophy because he emphasized the role of reason in developing the natural sciences (Rotz.) In his famed work Discourse on the Method, he developed a fundamental set of principles that one can know as true without doubt.  Order to accomplish this, he uses a method called hyperbolic/metaphysical doubt (also referred to as methodological skepticism) in which he rejects any notions that can be doubted and then reinstates them in order to achieve a solid foundation for genuine knowledge.  At first, Descartes developed only a single principle: thought exists, an idea best expressed by his fame as “I think, therefore I am.” He concluded that if he doubted, then something or someone must be performing the doubting so that the very fact that he doubted was proof of his existence.

The six proofs, or meditations are:

• Concerning those things that can be called into doubt: since he remembers that his senses have deceived him before, he believes that his dreams /thoughts are unreliable.
• Concerning the nature of the human mind: that it is better known than the body: representationalism, which disconnects the mind from the body. We only have access to the world and our ideas because things in the world can only be accessed indirectly. These ideas are understood to involve all the contents of the mind such as perception, images, memories, beliefs, intentions, and decisions.
• Concerning the existence of God. The idea of God is placed in us by God, it is not innate. The idea of perfection must originate from a perfect being, therefore, the existence of God.
• Concerning the true and the false: God’s perfection and goodness is related to his perfect being, but on the opposite end of the scale is complete nothingness and evil. Humans are in between these two extremes, being less perfect or good than God, but more real and good than nothingness.
• Concerning the essence of material things, and again concerning the existence of God: the certainty and truth of all knowledge comes from one thing: thoughts of the true God. Before knowing him, nothing could be known perfectly. Because of God’s perfection, a person can know the nature of physical objects in addition to spiritual ones.
• Concerning the existence of material things and the real distinction between mind and body: Descartes explores the existence of material things outside of the self and God. Such things can exist simply because God has made them.

Despite the fact that so many philosophers have come before and after Descartes, his work remains among the most significant and utilized approach to human knowledge and existence study throughout the world.  To study him at length is to engage in endless rumination about the meaning and existence of man.

Works Cited:

Rotz, Nina. How to Compare Socrates with Descartes. 21 December 2008. 26 October 2012 <http://voices.yahoo.com/how-compare-socrates-descartes-2305265.html>.