Descartes and the Quest for Certain Knowledge in 17th Century Philosophy
Descartes was born in La Haye in Touraine in 1596, 10 years ls entering a college d internal Jesuits then studied law degree once dedicated his life to the profession but step d weapons ready to move in university, Descartes lived in Holland died in 1650 in Stockholm where he had traveled to become a teacher of Queen Christina of Sweden Culturally, the seventeenth century is a century in the modern era fundamental. It is the century of the Baroque, which is to happen to the Renaissance. Later highlights the Spanish Golden Age with playwrights like Calderon and Lope de Vega and Quevedo and Góngora poets. In the visual arts to highlight Spanish painting Murillo, Zurbarán and Velázquez in particular, recognized as one of the greatest painters in history. Finally, in this century consolidated the Protestant Reformation in northern Europe and the Counter-Reformation in Catholic countries, resulting in a religious conflict reflected in the Thirty Years War. This time it is also intellectually novel to philosophy.
The seventeenth century was marked by the definitive decline of scholastic philosophy and the birth, with the founder to Descartes, modern philosophy.
Dl conocmiento problem:
Descartes, the seventeenth century, is the founder of modern philosophy and principal thinker of the current philosophical rationalism.
Rationalism is a philosophical school that considers the ratio compared to the senses as the only source of true knowledge.
For Descartes the key is looking for a sure and certain knowledge, a theory to be true without any doubt.
Therefore, priority will be to find a method that helps us to reason, as a guide. In addition, this method should be compatible with the thinking of human reason, as if it would be useless. Therefore, the first thing is to analyze how to act in their own reasonable to conclude that this ratio, which is the same for all men, there are two types of knowledge:
intuition or natural light, knowledge of simple ideas that arise from the very rationale for a clear and distinct, the truth is obvious and undeniable, and deduction, knowledge is a succession of simple ideas, insights and connections that reason discovers including to arrive at complex truths, judgments or laws. Thus, for Descartes, the existence of these two modes of knowledge, method and process to be followed to get to know you must follow two steps:
analysis, by which complex ideas are broken down to simple ideas and obvious that they can be intuited, and synthesis, which is reached by deducting a conclusion that to understand the complex and construct laws that explain them. Descartes applied this method to find an indubitable truth, through the analysis, and reach well, with the synthesis, a certain metaphysical. To find this obvious truth from which to make the deduction and make use methodical doubt synthesis. In the first doubt, doubt the knowledge that it comes from the senses can deceive us. The second question, doubt the existence of extra-mental reality as it is impossible to distinguish waking from sleep. And finally, the third question, doubt the knowledge that comes from reason, theideas of reason or reasons, then we can assume the existence of an evil genius that leads us into error when we believe to be right. But, says Descartes, doubt can not doubt that, while we can not doubt that we are thinking and therefore we exist. The first intuition of an undoubted truth is I think, therefore I am.
And if I do I exist as a thinking self, a cogito, affirming that the existence of thinking substance (the cogito)
as the first undoubted truth. From this, Descartes seek a synthesis that allows to have a certain knowledge. This will leave no doubt of its truth, the cogito. This cogito think hypothetically ideas that can be divided into three types:
adventitious, those that appear to come from abroad, factitious, those that build the mind from other ideas, innate, those that reason has in itself and are not adventitious or factitious.
Within god d existence of innate ideas is the idea of infinity: I have not been able to do to be finite, but the idea I have it and I have not been able to do what someone has done, God. This assures me that the outside world and my ideas are related (Real Cause provided).
Now God can not fool me and my ideas will correspond to reality. The result after demonstrating to God that the world does exist, where God is good and true and adventitious ideas belong to that world. Descartes believes finding the first principle in “cogito ergo sum” (I think therefore I am) but find it we need to find the foundations of science. The goal is to find the foundations of knowledge, what are the first principles, because Descartes believes that knowledge is unique because the only reason is, so look for the unique method (no two different knowledge, no two separate sciences) . Mathematical method is applied because it works with my reason, intuition and deduction (observe and draw conclusions as well), but the problem is to intuition (the first truths) and for this we use two procedures:
Analysis and synthesis
It should be an analysis of knowledge to know which ones are good or disposable, if doubts are disposable, ‘The first object is methodical doubt looking for first principles. One thing is the object of doubt (subject on which sensitive data are analyzed) that are discarded because Descartes says that the senses deceive, and another thing is the reason for concern (not worth the senses because I have deceived me, then since can not be certain knowledge.-The second object of study is the external reality: you know nothing about the shape, color … With things but that there’s an object (everything not me). The reason by which it is discarded wakefulness and sleep that allows the outside world (reality) is not a foundation.-The third object of doubt are the mathematical principles. The reason is discarded by a genius evil (possibility of human error). This study does not reach the first principles and see the first true model and this: “I exist and I think for doing these things.” The criterion of truth is the clarity and distinction that is there. The contents of my mind are ideas that have been in brackets, I think ideas, not things I do not know if they are true or not.