笛卡尔 René Descartes.docx

笛卡尔 René Descartes.docx

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笛卡尔RenéDescartes

RenéDescartes（1596-1650）isoneofthemostimportantWesternphilosophersofthepastfewcenturies.Duringhislifetime,Descarteswasjustasfamousasanoriginalphysicist,physiologistandmathematician.Butitisasahighlyoriginalphilosopherthatheismostfrequentlyreadtoday.Heattemptedtorestartphilosophyinafreshdirection.Forexample,hisphilosophyrefusedtoaccepttheAristotelianandScholastictraditionsthathaddominatedphilosophicalthoughtthroughouttheMedievalperiod;itattemptedtofullyintegratephilosophywiththe"new"sciences;andDescarteschangedtherelationshipbetweenphilosophyandtheology.SuchnewdirectionsforphilosophymadeDescartesintoarevolutionaryfigure.

ThetwomostwidelyknownofDescartes'philosophicalideasarethoseofamethodofhyperbolicdoubt,andtheargumentthat,thoughhemaydoubt,hecannotdoubtthatheexists.ThefirstofthesecomprisesakeyaspectofDescartes'philosophicalmethod.Asnotedabove,herefusedtoaccepttheauthorityofpreviousphilosophers-buthealsorefusedtoaccepttheobviousnessofhisownsenses.Inthesearchforafoundationforphilosophy,whatevercouldbedoubtedmustberejected.Heresolvestotrustonlythatwhichisclearlyanddistinctlyseentobebeyondanydoubt.Inthismanner,Descartespeelsawaythelayersofbeliefsandopinionsthatcloudedhisviewofthetruth.But,verylittleremains,onlythesimplefactofdoubtingitself,andtheinescapableinferencethatsomethingexistsdoubting,namelyDescarteshimself.

Hisnexttaskistoreconstructourknowledgepiecebypiece,suchthatatnostageisthepossibilityofdoubtallowedtocreepbackin.Inthismanner,Descartesprovesthathehimselfmusthavethebasiccharacterisitcofthinking,andthatthisthinkingthing（mind）isquitedistinctfromhisbody;theexistenceofaGod;theexistenceandnatureoftheexternalworld;andsoon.WhatisimportantinthisforDescartesis,first,thatheisshowingthatknowledgeisgenuinelypossible（andthusthatscepticsmustbemistaken）,and,second,that,moreparticularly,amathematically-basedscientificknowledgeofthematerialworldispossible.

Descartes'workwasinfluential,althoughhisstudiesinphysicsandtheothernaturalsciencesmuchlesssothanhismathematicalandphilosophicalwork.Throughoutthe17thand18thCenturies,Descartes'philosophicalghostwasalwayspresent;Locke,Hume,LeibnizandevenKantfeltcompelledtophilosophicalentanglementwiththisintellectualgiant.Forthesereasons,Descartesisoftencalledthe"father"ofmodernphilosophy.

ThisarticleprovidesanoverviewofDescartes'philosophicalthoughtfollowingtheorderofhismostfamousandwidely-studiedbook,theMeditationsonFirstPhilosophy.

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1.Life

DescarteswasborninavillagenearToursinFrancein1596.HewaseducatedataJesuitcollegewhichwasfirmlygroundedinthescholastictradition,andbynomeansadversetothestudyofeitherthehumanities,orscience.Attheschoolhewasgivenprivilegessimilartothoseenjoyedbyboysofnoblebirth,butonthegroundsofhisfragilehealth.Descartesstudiedabroadrangeofsubjects,andexcelledparticularlyinmathematics.ItisclearhebenefitedgreatlyfromthisJesuiteducation,yetDescartes（incommonwithmanyintellectualsofhistime）waskeentostresstheseparationofreasonandfaith.ThismeantthathecouldbescepticalconcerningthephilosophicalandtheologicalpositionstakenbytheChurch,whilemaintaininghisCatholicfaith.AftertakingadegreeinlawfromPoitier,DescartesenlistedintheDutchand,later,theBavarianmilitaries.By1619,undertheinfluenceoftheDutchmathematicianandscientistBeeckman,Descartesbeganhisexceptionallyfertilemathematicalstudiesofnaturalphenomena.Alsoaround1619,DescartesmayhavebeguntheunfinishedRulesfortheDirectionoftheMindwhichwashisfirstmajorphilosophicaltreatiseonthepropermethodforpursuingeitherscienceorrationaltheology.Overthenextdecade,DescartesalternatedspendingtimeinPariswiththecircleofmathematiciansandphysicistsgatheredaroundthefigureofFatherMersenne,andtravellingwidely.In1629DescartesmovedtoHollandwherehelivedinseclusionfor20years,onlyoccasionallyreturningtoFrance,andchanginghisresidencefrequentlytopreservehisprivacy.

Thescientificandtechnicalstudiesoftheseyearsresultedinthethreetextsonoptics,meteorologyandgeometry,whichwereonlypublishedin1637,and'TheWorld'whichwaspublishedposthumously.Nevertheless,Descarteswasestablishingquiteareputationasaforbidablemathematician.Descartesmadeanumberofimportantcontributionstomathematicsandphysics,amongthemostenduringofwhichwashisfoundation（withGalileo）ofwhatisnowknownasanalyticgeometry.Thatis,broadlyspeaking,theuseofgeometricalanalysistosolvecomplexalgebraicproblems,andviceversa.Itisdifficulttooverestimatetheimportanceforthehistoryofmathematicalphysicsofthisbringingtogetherofthesciencesofgeometryandalgebra.

WiththeexceptionofpartsoftheRulesandafewfragments,mostofDescartes'early'metaphysical'writingsarelost.ItwasafterhemovedtoAmsterdamthatDescartesbeganworkinginearnestonthephilosophicalideasuponwhichhisfamenowrests.TheDiscourseontheMethodwaspublishedin1637,togetherwiththethreetreatisesmentionedabove.Andin1640,heenlargeduponthemetaphysicalissuestherein,writinghisMeditationsonFirstPhilosophy.ThefulltitleofthisworkisMeditationsontheFirstPhilosophy:

InWhichtheExistenceofGodandtheDistinctionBetweenMindandBodyareDemonstrated.Theworkwasfirstpublishedin1641inLatinandwastranslatedintoFrenchinthefollowingyearbytheDucdeLuynes.ThetranslationintoFrenchwasrelativelyunusualandsignificant,forittestifiedtoDescartes'wishestobringhisworktoawider,non-specialisedaudience,wholayoutsidetheaccepted'authorities'ontheologicalandphilosophicalmatters.DescarteswassopleasedwiththeFrenchtranslationthathemadesomeadditionsandfullyendorseditforlaterpublication.DescartespassedamanuscriptofhisMeditationsontohisfriend,FatherMersenne,whosolicitedcommentsfromfellowscholars,includingThomasHobbes.ThecommentswerereturnedtoDescartes.These,alongwithhislengthyreplies-severaltimeslongerthantheMeditationsthemselves-wereincludedinthesecondpublishededitionoftheMeditations（1642）.ThePrinciplesofPhilosophyfollowedin1644.

In1649,DescartesmovedtoStockholmattherequestofQueenChristinaofSwedenwhoemployedhimasaphilosophytutor.Christinascheduledthelecturesat5A.M.TheearlyhoursandharshclimatetooktheirtollonDescartes'salreadyweakenedcondition.Hediedshortlyafterin1650.Duringhislife,Descartes'sfamerosetosuchanextentthat（despitethetheologicalcontroversiescenteringonhim）manyCatholicsbelievedhewouldbeacandidateforsainthood.AshisbodywastransportedfromSwedenbacktoFrance,anxiousreliccollectorsalongthepathremovedpiecesofhisbody.BythetimehisbodyreachedFrance,itwasconsiderablyreducedinsize.

Descartes'philosophydevelopedinthecontextofthekeyfeaturesofRenaissanceandearlymodernphilosophy.Likethehumanists,herejectedreligiousauthorityinthequestforscientificandphilosophicalknowledge.AlthoughDescarteswasadevoutCatholic,hewasalsoinfluencedbytheReformation'schallengetoChurchauthority,particularlythechallengeagainstmedievalAristotelianism.Nevertheless,Descartes'philosophicalvocabularyisheavilydeterminedbyscholasticthought-Descarteswashappytoborrowideasorprincipleswherehefelttheywerenotagainstclearreasoning.ForDescartes,reasonwasboththefoundationandguideforpursuingtruth.Hewasanactiveparticipantinthescientificrevolutioninbothscientificmethodandinparticulardiscoveries.Finally,andperhapsmostimportantly,DescartesreactedstronglyagainsttheRenaissanceresurgenceofancientGreekscepticism.Thus,wefindinDescartes'writingsarelentlesspursuitofabsolutecertainty.

Descarteswashugelyinfluentialonindividual,andkey,philosophersthroughoutthe17thand18thCenturies（Spinoza,Malbranche,Locke,Leibniz,etc.）.Hisinsistenceonaradicalphilosophythatdispensed,asfaraspossible,withauthority;hisinsistenceontheperspectiveofconsciousnessinepistemology;hisattempttoraisethestandardofphilosophicalargumentationtoascienceakintogeometry;hiscloseintegrationofphilosophyandphysicalscience;hisemphasisonmethodology,allwerehugelyimportant.Evenphilosopherswhorejectedhisthoughtspentagreatdealoftimeandenergydoingso-Descartescouldnotbeignored.ThoughDescartes'mathematicalworkswereunquestionablyimportant,theparticularsofhisphysicswerelessso.AndyetDescartes'generalphysics-therationaljustificationforauniversal,mathematical/quantitativeunderstandingofnature-washugelysignificant.However,despitealltheseinfluences,hisphilosophicalandscientificworkneverbecamethe'official'newphilosophy,ashehadhopeditwould.First,itsufferedcondemnation,usuallyonreligiousgrounds;thisbeganalreadyduringDescartes'lifetime,andhisworkwasofficially'prohibited'in1663bytheChurchinRome.Then,bytheearly18thCentury,itsufferedthedoubleblowoftheriseofempirically-mindedapproachesinBritainandFrance,togetherwiththetriumphofNewtonianphysicsprettymucheverywhere.

Thefollowin