Thomas Campanis

Descartes Blog on his Discourse on Method.

Descartes' Discourse of Method was very readable. From the beginning one statement stood out in particular. Descartes writes, "For it is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to apply it well" (Descartes 46). By reading this personal statement of Descartes' I was able to better understand his direction and purpose for writing this essay. 

His first of four rules reads, "Never accept anything as true that did not plainly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid hasty judgment and prejudice..." (Descartes 54). This seems to be the basis of his method, to know everything for himself without letting external influences alter his knowledge. But he then his third rule is more concerning. He intends to come to knowledge by "commencing with those object that are simplest to know, in order to ascend...to the knowledge of the most composite things. With this statement I began to think of Democritus and the atom. How can Descartes come to know the most simple thing, when even that is a supposition and can surely not be a proper foundation. Also, the beginning statement about mental application is interesting to me. It is interesting because I do not agree that what Descartes is doing is a useful means on his self. To an extent one must think about ones self and what to belief and how they come to knowledge. But along side thought, there must be action. And for Descartes, he seems to have neglected the latter to an intense degree to the the point where his thought induces paralysis. It seems to be a wasted life. What is knowledge worth if you do not take action in this world and participate? I have only read on the Discourse on Method so I cannot speak for his other writings.