Rene Descartes

Good morning! Today I will be presenting the life and philosophy of Rene Descartes. NEXT
SLIDE

Background
Descartes was born to Joachim and Jeanne Descartes on March 31, 1596 in La Haye, France,
which has since been renamed Descartes. NEXT SLIDE

Descartes entered the Jesuit College of La Flèche. He studied French, Latin and Greek
grammar, classical poets, and Cicero, followed by three years of philosophy. The Jesuits also
included mathematics in the final three years of study, which is why he was able to create the
Cartesian plane. NEXT SLIDE

Details of his Philosophy

Descartes used methodic doubt in creating his philosophy, wherein he rejected all beliefs in
which one has ever been, or could ever be, deceived. NEXT SLIDE

Knowledge based on authority can be wrong, because according to Descartes, even experts
are sometimes wrong. He believed that:

- One: Beliefs from sensory experience are untrustworthy, because such experience is
sometimes misleading, as when a square tower appears round from a distance. NEXT
SLIDE

- And two, Knowledge of simple and general truths of reasoning that do not depend on
sense experience—such as “2 + 3 = 5”—is also unreliable, because God could have
made him in such a way that, for example, he is wrong every time he counts. NEXT
SLIDE

Descartes’ main philosophy is derived from him being certain that when he is thinking—even if
he is being deceived—he must exist. NEXT SLIDE

In the Discourse, he expresses this intuition in the dictum “Cogito ergo sum” or “I think, therefore
I am”. NEXT SLIDE

To put it simply: Descartes introduced a new school of thought on the definition of existence.
- Philosophically, the definition of existence is to be able to think or rationalize.
- For example, a rock, which is unable to think, is merely present. However, according to
Descartes, those who are able to think are not only present, but also exist. NEXT SLIDE
Contribution to the study of Philosophy/Sayings or statements attributed to him

In 1641 Descartes published the Latin book Meditations on First Philosophy, in Which Is Proved
the Existence of God and the Immortality of the Soul.

The work includes critical responses by renowned thinkers—philosopher and theologian Antoine
Arnauld, philosopher Thomas Hobbes, and Epicurean atomist Pierre Gassendi—as well as
Descartes’ replies.

- The second edition includes a response by the Jesuit priest Pierre Bourdin, who
Descartes said was a fool. Today, these objections and replies serve as a landmark of
cooperative discussion in philosophy and science. Especially so as this was a time when
dogmatism was the rule. NEXT SLIDE

Thank you for listening!

References:

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Meditations of René Descartes. Encyclopædia

Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Descartes/Meditations

Hatfield, G. (2014, January 16). René Descartes. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes/#:~:text=Ren%C3%A9%20Descartes%20(159
6%E2%80%931650),second%2C%20and%20a%20metaphysician%20third.

Limited, A. (n.d.). René Descartes House in La Haye, Touraine, France in the 19th century
stock photo. Alamy.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-ren-descartes-house-in-la-haye-touraine-france-in-the
-19th-century-40105944.html

Maden, J. (n.d.). I think therefore I am: Descartes' Cogito ergo sum explained. Philosophy
Break.
https://philosophybreak.com/articles/i-think-therefore-i-am-descartes-cogito-ergo-sum-expl
ained/

Rene Descartes timeline. Timetoast timelines. (1589, October 14).

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/rene-descartes-51cf8b7b-0999-4e00-ac79-40d48292
a0ee