Glossary of Cartesian Philosophy: Key Concepts Explained
Glossary of Cartesian Philosophy
Alma (Soul)
Res cogitans (thinking substance): A spiritual substance that is finite because it has a beginning. It is also simple because it cannot be broken down into parts and, therefore, is immortal. A substance independent of the body and does not need it to exist. It is a principle of consciousness, i.e., that by which I am aware. According to Descartes, the soul is more easily known than the body.
Certainty (Certitude)
Act of the spirit recognizing the unqualified clarity and distinction of truth. Conviction is subject to the truth. A guarantee and basis of evidence. Descartes refers to the evidence as true certainty because certainty can also be false: if one is sure and convinced of something that is actually a mistake.
Clarity and Distinction
Belong to the first rule of the Cartesian method. The key feature of “clear” is something that is transparent, evident, and visible to the right. “Distinct” is differentiated, precise, unique, and unmistakable. “Just admit the clear and distinct ideas,” which is evident to reason.
Corps (Body)
Substance extensive (res extensa): The material substance is bounded by the figure and occupies space; it can be weighed and measured. Its operation is similar to a machine, being composed of material parts that move and, consequently, the whole extended body is limited, finite, and mortal.
God (Dieu)
Infinite substance. It is the Infinite which has put in me the idea of infinity. His presence in my mind proves its existence. It has all perfections and will not be missing there. Besides being perfect, omnipotent, and good, a primary attribute is truth. God does not deceive me; He is the source and guarantee of truth.
Duda (Doubt)
Starting point in Cartesian knowledge. A preventative attitude of the mind towards the unknown. The question is theoretical, not practical, methodical, and not skeptical. The Cartesian strategy is to get to the truth. It is universal, covering meaning, dreams, evil genius, and even the very reason a brother acts wrongly, but it does not apply to the truths of faith.
Extension (Etendue)
All material, sensitive, or body that has width, height, and depth. It is the essential attribute of the world. I do not think long, and thinking is not widespread. This substance is mathematizable extensive; we can calculate, measure, and frame space with Cartesian coordinates. To be composed of material parts is limited; it breaks down and dies.
Man (Homme)
Accidental union of two substances, mind (soul) and extension (body). Soul and body are two separate substances but connected through the pineal gland (dualism). Man is like a thinking machine. It’s a free being that must master the passions of his soul.
Idea (Idee)
“The form of a thought for the immediate perception of which I am aware of that thought.” It is any object of thought. There are three types of ideas: adventitious (transient, coming and going), factitious (come to my mind, my imagination), and innate (present in my reason, has always been independent of sensory experience).
Method (Methode)
Ordered set of rules with certainty and to avoid error and arrive at true knowledge. It is the way forward to reach the truth and a useful tool for inventing and discovering new truths. The rules allow me to proceed systematically and rationally; there are four: evidence, analysis, synthesis, and enumeration.
World (Monde)
The world is an extended substance; it is a material reality, unthinking and finite. That extension is mathematizable, corporeal, and geometric. It looks like a great machine composed of machines (universal mechanistic: the union of extension movement). The created world exists because God is truthful and does not mislead me. The vast world is another innate idea, clear and distinct.
Thinking (Penser)
“Every act of consciousness, all the things that we are aware of, understand, love, doubt, imagine, affirm, deny, feel…” Thinking is typical of the thinking substance (soul). To think, I need to be. I think, therefore I am a thinking being. Nothing in thinking comes from the thought. Thought makes me, qualitatively, into a supreme being who does not think matter.
Reason (Raison)
School to try and distinguish truth from falsehood is central to human use, either his wit or his “natural light.” This ability is the basis of rationalism; knowledge begins and is based on reason. “All men are right, but not all use it the same way.” Confidence in reason is coupled with distrust of the senses.
Substance (Substance)
That which does not need anything else to exist. A kind of base or support that occurs in the properties and qualities of things. It distinguishes three classes: thinking substance (I), infinite substance (God), and extended substance (world).
Truth (Veritas)
Objective of the method and Cartesian philosophy. It is defined as certain (security) and as evidence of self (clear and distinct). In a real trial, it involves understanding and will. Upon discovering the first truth, Descartes rejects skepticism. The ultimate guarantee of truth is in being truthful.
I (Je)
The first idea is innate, a clear and distinct view of Descartes. This evidence is the subject of my thoughts. “I think, therefore I am” (“Cogito, ergo sum”), is the thinking self-discovery. The text of the speech is written in the first person, from the subjective, always giving prominence to self: I think, I hesitated, I was, I dreamed, my reason, my senses…