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Bachelor Number Three:
Rene Descartes
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René Descartes (1596-1650)
René Descartes (1596-1650)
by Carl Baydala
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Rene Descartes had been called The Father of Modern Philosophy. He got this term by breaking with the old methods as developed by the Scholastics and Aristotle. That may be so, but, he was still a bachelor philosopher. And, this fact qualifies him as a special interest philosopher for me.
Descartes was quite the lady’s man as well and he even fathered a child, a little girl who dies young. But, he never married and that is why I am highlighting Rene is this spot right now. I am including Rene Descartes as one of my personal philosophical friends because he never married. Here is a portrayal of the man here as concerns women:
" He was too wise a man to encumber himself with a wife; but as he was a man, he had the desires and appetites of a man; he therefore kept a good conditioned handsome woman that he liked, and by whom he had some children (I think two or three). 'Tis a pity, but coming from the brain of such a father, they should be well cultivated. ..."
Source here:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Obits2/Descartes_Aubrey.html
Maybe I should be satisfied that I never married and take Descarte’s advice. Maybe it is simple better to deal with women from a distance and be satisfied with the status quo. Perhaps women really do get in the way of proper thinking and cannot allow that all important solitude and freedom to occur. But, then why did God create women in the first place? There must be a reason for their existence.
There were a couple of famous women in his life as well. One he communicate with professionally was a princess Elizabeth of Bohemia and the other was Queen Christina of Sweden. So, his was not without his chances as concerns the business of women. One wonders why the queen of Sweden had to get Rene up every day at 5:00AM in the chilly Swedish weather. This finally took a toll on him and he died as a result of the cold northern weather.
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Rene Descartes had been called The Father of Modern Philosophy. He got this term by breaking with the old methods as developed by the Scholastics and Aristotle. That may be so, but, he was still a bachelor philosopher. And, this fact qualifies him as a special interest philosopher for me.
Descartes was quite the lady’s man as well and he even fathered a child, a little girl who dies young. But, he never married and that is why I am highlighting Rene is this spot right now. I am including Rene Descartes as one of my personal philosophical friends because he never married. Here is a portrayal of the man here as concerns women:
" He was too wise a man to encumber himself with a wife; but as he was a man, he had the desires and appetites of a man; he therefore kept a good conditioned handsome woman that he liked, and by whom he had some children (I think two or three). 'Tis a pity, but coming from the brain of such a father, they should be well cultivated. ..."
Source here:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Obits2/Descartes_Aubrey.html
Maybe I should be satisfied that I never married and take Descarte’s advice. Maybe it is simple better to deal with women from a distance and be satisfied with the status quo. Perhaps women really do get in the way of proper thinking and cannot allow that all important solitude and freedom to occur. But, then why did God create women in the first place? There must be a reason for their existence.
There were a couple of famous women in his life as well. One he communicate with professionally was a princess Elizabeth of Bohemia and the other was Queen Christina of Sweden. So, his was not without his chances as concerns the business of women. One wonders why the queen of Sweden had to get Rene up every day at 5:00AM in the chilly Swedish weather. This finally took a toll on him and he died as a result of the cold northern weather.
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His most famous phrase was: Cogito Ergo Sum. Which means: I think therefore I am. You will only be able to understand what he meant by this statement once you examine his methods for arriving at his ideas about the source of knowledge. His epistemology in other words. Descartes was a life-long Catholic and hence believed in God He believed that God was pure and could not deceive. . This fact will form part of his philosophy as well as we will see.
His most famous phrase was: Cogito Ergo Sum. Which means: I think therefore I am. You will only be able to understand what he meant by this statement once you examine his methods for arriving at his ideas about the source of knowledge. His epistemology in other words. Descartes was a life-long Catholic and hence believed in God He believed that God was pure and could not deceive. . This fact will form part of his philosophy as well as we will see.
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Descartes wanted to introduce something new to philosophy in the early 1600's. He wanted to be skeptical about all knowledge; he wanted to doubt in order to prove that something existed. Nothing was to be taken for granted in his eyes. His thoughts that he developed are found in his major work: The Meditations.
Descartes wanted to introduce something new to philosophy in the early 1600's. He wanted to be skeptical about all knowledge; he wanted to doubt in order to prove that something existed. Nothing was to be taken for granted in his eyes. His thoughts that he developed are found in his major work: The Meditations.
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Descartes wanted to develop a systematic approach to knowledge. He wanted his method to be mechanistic like the sciences and like geometry. He wanted to be sure about his methods and to remove the possibility of doubt. The old school of thought relied on the senses, and according to Rene the senses were not reliable. You have to think of Descartes as a thinker, or a rationalist. He wants to reason his way to the truth and that he why he developed his system the way he did.
Descartes wanted to develop a systematic approach to knowledge. He wanted his method to be mechanistic like the sciences and like geometry. He wanted to be sure about his methods and to remove the possibility of doubt. The old school of thought relied on the senses, and according to Rene the senses were not reliable. You have to think of Descartes as a thinker, or a rationalist. He wants to reason his way to the truth and that he why he developed his system the way he did.
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The Internet Encyclopedia above provides an excellent summation of Descartes and of the Meditations.
The Internet Encyclopedia above provides an excellent summation of Descartes and of the Meditations.
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You can read the Meditations here:
You can read the Meditations here:
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http://www.wright.edu/cola/descartes/mede.html
and follow along by listening the Meditations here at
http://www.wright.edu/cola/descartes/mede.html
and follow along by listening the Meditations here at
Libri Vox
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Meditations on First Philosophy
When you start reading the Meditations you will find out in part two what the meaning of Cogito Ergo Sum means.
Meditations on First Philosophy
When you start reading the Meditations you will find out in part two what the meaning of Cogito Ergo Sum means.
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After a successful foray into the life of Rene Descartes you should come away with the phrase Cogito Ergo Sum dancing in your brain. If you do not, then I suggest that you have not done enough reading on the man.
After a successful foray into the life of Rene Descartes you should come away with the phrase Cogito Ergo Sum dancing in your brain. If you do not, then I suggest that you have not done enough reading on the man.
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The idea of thinking and what it means to be able to think should be the highlight of one’s knowledge as it relates to his work. He was a brilliant mathematician, natural philosopher, and metaphysician as well. He also seems to be quite the lady’s man as well. The wealthy and famous women were attracted to him. So, I say let this be a lesson to us bachelors: Women love power, and so it would seem a man with a brain that can produce powerful ideas. I suppose it always has, and will be like that. So, there is hope for all of us. Just keep thinking, and thinking hard, and the women will eventually find you. But, that does not necessarily mean that you should get married of course. Perhaps just surround yourself with beautiful women of means. That is what it looks like Rene did to keep his mind in shape.
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You can watch this interview about Rene Descartes
as well on You Tube:
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Bernard Williams on Descartes
( Bryan Magee interview )
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