Rene Descartes - philosophy, reasoning. French philosopher, mathematician, mechanic and physicist Rene Descartes: biography, works, teachings Rene Descartes full biography
"The sayings of the sages may be
reduced to a very small number of general rules ... "
René Descartes, 1619
French scientist. One of the few who laid the foundations of the modern methodology of science.
“Descartes believes that there are some thoughts in our mind that are not received from external objects and not due to the spontaneous determination of our will. They are innate in our minds, like thoroughbredness or hereditary gout in some families. These are, for example, the ideas of movements, figures, colors, sounds, pain, which the mind must have before we perceive in experience the concrete phenomena in which these ideas are embodied. The "chief and first" of the innate ideas is the idea of God. The innateness of ideas does not mean that they are present in our minds from birth in finished form. “Saying that we have some innate idea, we do not think that this idea is constantly revealed to us. [...] I only claim that we have the ability to call it into our minds" (Rene Descartes, Works in 2 volumes, Volume 2, M., 1994, p. 148)”.
Karmin A.S. , Intuition: philosophical concepts and scientific research, St. Petersburg, "Nauka", 2011, p. 64.
“The method, its rules, emphasizes Descartes, are the foundation on which the edifice of science is being built.
“All philosophy can be compared to a tree whose roots are metaphysics, the trunk is physics, and the branches growing from this trunk are all other sciences, which are reduced to three main ones: medicine, mechanics and ethics - I mean the highest and most perfect ethics, which, subject to the integrity of knowledge, is the highest level of wisdom. Of course, “just as the fruits are not harvested either from the roots or from the trunk, but only from the branches, so the main usefulness of philosophy depends on those parts of it, the comprehension of which is possible only in the very last turn.”
However, without roots one cannot grow a tree, without a foundation (without a method) one cannot build the edifice of science.
What is the essence of the method, what are its rules?
In Rules for the Guidance of the Mind, Descartes formulates 21
as a rule, in the "Discourse on the method" - only 4
.
Descartes explains such a sharp reduction in the rules as follows: “Since a large number of laws often serve only as a pretext for their ignorance and violation, the fewer laws a people has, the better it is managed, provided that the laws are strictly observed; and I thought that instead of many laws of logic, the following four are enough for me - provided that they are strictly and strictly observed without any exceptions.
Bessonov B.N., Philosophical portraits, Omsk, OSU, 2013, p. 10-11.
Rene Descartes wrote about self-development / evolution under the influence of the laws of nature, which “... would be sufficient to make the parts of matter unravel and arrange themselves in a very harmonious order. Having come into order by itself thanks to these laws, our matter would take the form of a very perfect world, in which it would be possible to observe not only light, but also all other phenomena that take place in our real world.
Young René had an extremely weak constitution, and there was little hope of saving his life. But when his health improved, his father sent him to Lafleche to study under the supervision of the Jesuits. Here he became friends with the young Mersen, who also studied at the college; their friendship was broken by the death of Descartes.
Father Rene, trusting in the maturity of character and passionate love for his son's teaching, allowed him to go to Paris alone, without a leader or mentor. At first, the hopes of the venerable adviser were not fulfilled: René, carried away by some of his friends, indulged in a game; but soon seeing the abyss under his feet, he severed all ties and settled in a secluded house on the outskirts of Germain. Here he studied science without entertainment.
Descartes hesitated for a long time in choosing a state; sometimes he leaned towards authorship, but - strange to say - it seemed to him indecent to the nobility of his family. Finally, independence seemed to him the highest good; he was looking for her in Holland. In 1617 he volunteered for the army of Maurice of Nassau. While in the garrison of Breda, one day he approached a crowd reading an advertisement in Flemish; in the announcement there was a challenge to solve one geometric problem. Among the crowd was a professor of mathematics, Beckmann, who, at René's request, translated the announcement. The next day, a young volunteer came to the professor with his solution to the problem. Here is the beginning of the friendship between Beckmann and Descartes.
From the Dutch troops, Descartes moved to the Bavarian ones and thus traveled almost through the whole of Germany. It is inexplicable that on this journey he did not visit Kepler, the famous astronomer of that time and whom he later called his teacher in optics.
In the idleness of garrison duty, Descartes was engaged in a colossal project: to transform the whole of philosophy. The incessant mental confusion upset his brain: at night he had visions; the next day he tried to explain them and almost fell into insanity. During one of these visions, he made a vow to go to the worship of Our Lady of Loreto.
The Rosy Cross Sect, which promised people new science and true wisdom, was then respected in Germany, although her adenites deserved only contempt. Descartes tried several times to make a connection, even a rumor reached Paris that he had succeeded in his intention. Then his friends, especially Father Mersen, became alarmed, because the sect of the Rosy Cross, in Paris, not only did not enjoy the favor of the public, but even in the markets they cruelly laughed at it. Descartes decided to go to Paris to see his friends and explain his philosophy to them. While living in Paris, he learned of the death of his relative, who had a position in the administration of the French army in Italy; this incident reminded him of his vow to venerate Our Lady of Loreto B. He begged for a place for a deceased relative and left for Italy. To fulfill his vow, he first arrived in Venice, from where he intended to visit Rome during the jubilee.
Having traveled part of Italy, Descartes returned to Paris through the capital of Tuscany. Here is another case of inexplicable surprise: wishing to become an adept of the Rosy Cross, he showed complete indifference to the works and discoveries of the Florentine astronomer: he even said that in the writings of Galileo there is nothing worthy of envy, nothing that deserves serious study.
Descartes studied medicine and boasted that he had made such progress in this science that he could extend his life by a hundred years. Abbé Pico joined him and surpassed his teacher in the hope of longevity: Abbé Pico hoped to live for four hundred years. Having chosen Holland as his permanent home, he thought to enjoy independence and freedom in it; but he was greatly deceived in his expectation. Some theologians of the Reformed Church, especially Foet, a professor at the University of Utrecht, raised a terrible persecution against him; they even accused him of atheism. Foet acted so skillfully that he got Descartes from the tribunal of the Utrecht condemnation. But the French envoy saved him, insisting that the condemnation was invalid, as against a subject of France.
Descartes hoped that the rules of his philosophy, expressed clearly and with moderation, would be accepted with approval. It turned out not at all: they became the text of vicious slander and undeserved accusations. But his mathematical discoveries deserved the best reception, although at that time there were few true connoisseurs of them. In such unfavorable circumstances, Descartes lost his courage, when suddenly, through Chania, the French envoy in Sweden, he receives a local invitation to the court of Queen Christina; after some hesitation, he accepted the invitation and left for Sweden, where the queen received him with excellent respect. She wanted Descartes to visit her at five o'clock in the morning to talk about the subject of learning; the climate did not long allow him to correct this difficult duty; On February 2, 1650, he fell ill with an inflammation in his chest and died on the 11th of the same month. The queen wanted to bury him with the honors enjoyed by members of the higher nobility; but the French envoy, in the name of national honor, claimed the body of the famous philosopher and transported him to Paris in 1666, where he was buried in the church of St. Genevieve. The body of Descartes was freely transported throughout Germany; but at the customs of Perron they demanded that the coffin be opened to examine the mortal remnants of the great man. According to the report, Chenier was ordered by decree of the convention to be transferred to the Pantheon. The decree was not executed, and, what do you think, because of whose opposition? According to the opposition of Mercier, the composer of the "Picture of Paris", who then became a tonic. In the course of the revolution, the remnants of the great geometer from the church of Genevieve were transferred to the museum of French monuments, then, in 1819, they were solemnly transferred to the church of S. Zhpre; the coffin was accompanied by the administrative authorities and several members of the Institute.
Many people think that Descartes retired to Holland from the persecutions that threatened him in his homeland: not at all. In France, no one thought to threaten; even offered him an honorary position; he constantly rejected everything, saying: "I will not sell my freedom for any riches." But he sold her to Queen Christina and found death.
Let us add that his marble statue, which adorns the hall of public meetings of the Institute, was erected by the former government before the revolution of 1789.
In his very youth, Descartes sought to overthrow the yoke of antiquity that weighed heavily on the new schools. In 1637 he published his Discour sur la methode, which contains excellent rules of logic; but, not to the credit of his memory, he subsequently did not follow them.
The "Geometry" of Descartes was also published in 1637. Here, undoubtedly, is the most solid monument of his glory. In this work, for the first time, the beginnings of that branch of the mathematical sciences, which is now known as the application of algebra to geometry, were outlined.
Descartes was the first to give a fair concept of the meaning of the negative roots of an equation. We are indebted to him for the rule that bears his name and which, from the successive signs (+) and (-), allows us to conclude about the number of roots, positive and negative, of a given equation, if it has no imaginary roots.
Descartes' "Dioptric" was published in 1637. This work contains the law of the constancy of the relationship between the sines of the angles of incidence and refraction. Reading some respected writers, especially English ones, I find with sad surprise that the discovery of Descartes is attributed to Snelly. The question is: what is the reason for such injustice? Descartes was the first to make known the said law. But, says Huygens, this law is in the manuscript of Snell, and Descartes, who was in Holland, could see this manuscript. However, Huygens does not claim that Descartes actually saw her; consequently, those who take away the honor of discovering the law on the French geometer erect an unheard of scientific predatory.
They also say that Descartes, in the direction of his mind, did not like to waste time on experiments and therefore could not find a controversial law. But how do strict judges fail to remember that, when light passes from air to water, the values of the angles of incidence and the corresponding angles of refraction, from 0 to 90 degrees, are placed in Vitellon's table? R Consideration of these numbers leads directly to the law of sines, and probably in this way Descartes reached his discovery. Snelly could have done the same. Moreover, Descartes already did not like experiments, as they usually say: in one of his letters to Mersen, he notifies that refraction is not proportional to the density of the body, and cites as an example turpentine and spirit of wine, in which refraction is greater than in water, despite the fact that that the first two liquids are much lighter than the last. Could this phenomenon be known without experiments?
In support of my opinion, I point out two more unnoticed, but the main circumstances. First: Descartes, not trusting the experiments on which the Vitellon table is based, invented a projectile to test the law he had found. He described this shell in detail. Secondly, having calculated the position of the focus of a convex glass according to the law of sines, he undoubtedly checked the calculations with a very easy experiment. However, I do not cease to repeat: the history of the sciences, written not from printed documents, is a pure novel. The historian in rare cases may deviate from this rule, and the law of sines is not subject to such an exception.
Descartes' "Dioptric" contains a detailed study of the so-called spherical aberration, together with ways to destroy it; here the great geometer proves that to fully achieve this goal it is necessary to make glasses and mirrors either parabolic or hyperbolic; and since ordinary means are not sufficient for this, Descartes described a machine by means of which glass and mirrors can be turned into the shapes mentioned.
In the "Dioptric" we find many studies on natural vision and vision through glasses.
The Dioptric is accompanied by a treatise on meteors, in which the explanation of the rainbow is most remarkable.
At all times, many attempts have been made to discover the secret of the formation of two rainbows. We meet the first fair concepts of this subject in Antony Dominic, rays of light will come out, forming an exactly natural phenomenon with all its colors. In this experiment, the author saw that a sunbeam, having entered the ball above its center, is reflected from its rear part and then exits at the bottom of it. A similar motion of the beam in a water drop outside the vertical plane forms side parts of the phenomenon. All this is true; but it seems to me that there is no explanation for the rainbow; to fully prove its formation, it is still necessary to discover how drops of water located above and below glass ball Dominica, do not produce such flowers. In a word, it was necessary to theoretically determine the position of the rays acting, as Descartes called them. Dominic had no idea about the second rainbow.
Regarding colors, Descartes calculated the angle between two planes, one of which touches at the point of entry of the ray into the drop, the other at the point of its exit, and then showed by experiment that a white ray really decomposes into colored rays when it passes through a water prism, in whose sides are mutually inclined at an angle equal to the angle of the two planes mentioned. Here, in my opinion, is a complete and perfectly satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon. Now everyone will correctly appreciate the witty, but incorrect expression: "Descartes painted both rainbows, and Newton colored them."
Some physicists unfairly say that the rainbow could not be explained until the reasons for the unequal refraction of colored rays were found. In this case, we still do not understand rainbows, because, at least in the theory of outflow, this reason has not yet been found: do we know that the possible difference between the speeds of colored rays has no effect on the phenomenon?
The Philosophical Principles were published in 1644. In this work, Descartes explains the mechanism of the Universe by means of vortices. A liquid circulates around the sun, which carries away all the planets; and other smaller eddies circle around the planets and drag their satellites. At first glance, such an idea is grandiose, and therefore it is not surprising that it was accepted by Fontenelle, Leibniz, Huygens, Bernoulli, Meran, etc. Looking at such a collection of first-class scientists, Macrolin, I think, should have refrained from calling Descartes' hypothesis a rhapsody . But the true touchstone of any hypothesis is its comparison with observation. When Descartes published his brilliant hypothesis, then Kepler's wonderful theory was already known, and not one astronomical phenomenon did not fit this hypothesis.
Who, for example, will not understand that according to the system of vortices the planets would turn around the Sun in circles. True, in order to destroy this objection, it can be assumed that extraneous vortices can act on the solar vortex and turn the circles into ellipses: but then the perigees and apogees of all the planets would be on the same straight line, which is contrary to observations.
Moreover, how can one explain the movement of comets according to Descartes - such bodies, which should be most entrained by vortices due to their small masses, and meanwhile they move in all directions? How to explain the prelude of the equinoxes according to Descartes? Nobody has tried this. That is why the hypothesis, surprisingly descended from the same pen that wrote the "speech on the method", is now completely forgotten.
They say that Descartes' hypothesis was accepted by the whole of France, without exception. It's not fair. As proof, I will cite one passage from Gassendi: “I do not know a single person who would have read the Principes to the end. There is nothing more boring than this book; it kills the reader. One must be surprised that the great geometer offered sleepy dreams instead of proofs.
Rene Descartes is the greatest scientist and thinker, the founder of European rationalistic philosophy. The philosophy of Descartes has become a fundamental teaching. The thinker's contribution to mathematics and psychology became fundamental for subsequent great discoveries.
short biography
Rene Descartes was born on March 31, 1596 in France, in the province of Touraine. He came from noble family, ancient, but impoverished. He was a sickly child. Already at an early age, he showed great interest in science and was distinguished by curiosity.
In 1606, his father sent Descartes to the Jesuit College of La Flèche. There he studied mathematics and other sciences. There he formed a negative opinion of scholastic philosophy, and maintained this attitude throughout his life. After graduating from the college, Descartes continued his education at the University of Poitiers. In 1616 he became a bachelor in law.
On next year Descartes entered the military service in order to know the world. This year has been a turning point for him. scientific matters and looks. He traveled extensively in Europe, participated in battles. Despite the lack of time, he did not leave his studies in philosophy and science. In 1619, while in a winter camp near Neuburg, Descartes decided to analyze existing philosophy and rebuild it.
This decision caused Descartes to retire. He spent several years traveling in Germany, Italy, Paris. In 1628 the philosopher moved to Holland and spent 20 years there. This time, he devoted to writing the most significant works - "The World", "Discourses on the Method ...", "The Origin of Philosophy". Descartes for a long time refused to publish his works in order to avoid clashes with the clergy. The ideas of the philosopher were accused of freethinking, but there were also supporters of his teachings, including the Swedish Queen Christina. In 1649 she invited him to Sweden to teach her philosophy. Shortly after moving to Stockholm, Descartes fell ill with pneumonia. In poor health and unaccustomed to the harsh climate, he died on February 11, 1650.
Doubt as a rationalistic method
The philosophy of René Descartes is one of the foundations of the European. It is based on the search for irrefutable foundations for any knowledge. The thinker sought to achieve absolute truth, reliable and logically unshakable. Opposite approaches were:
- empiricism, based on sensory experience and content with relative truth;
- mysticism, based on supersensible, mystical knowledge.
Descartes, in his search for truth, did not rely on sensory experience, considering its reliability doubtful. Evidence of the unreliability of empirical experience is in numerous deceptions of the senses. Nor did Descartes rely on mystical knowledge. According to the philosopher, in search of absolute truth, everything can be questioned. The only undeniable fact is our thinking. The fact of thinking convinces us of our existence. Descartes expressed this belief in famous aphorism"I think, therefore I am." This truth is irrefutable, and therefore, is the first point on which the worldview of Descartes was built. In his opinion, humanity has no other criterion of clarity. Therefore, all philosophical positions should be built on it.
Thoughts on God and the material world
Descartes talked a lot about the existence of God and the nature of the material world. The belief in the existence of the material world is based on human sensory perception, but it cannot be established for certain whether people are being deceived by their perception. Descartes was looking for a guarantee of the reliability of sensory perception. Such a guarantee is only the fact that the being that created man with his feelings and sensations is perfect and denies the idea of deception.
Man recognizes himself as imperfect only in comparison with the all-perfect being - God. The thought of such a being could only be planted in the minds of people by God himself. This means that the idea of God as a perfect being is already proof of him. Another proof is that our own being can only be explained by recognizing the existence of God. After all, if a person were not created by God, but came from himself, he would put all the perfect qualities into himself. The origin of man from the ancestors shows that there is the root cause - God.
The reasoning of the scientist was built as follows: God is a perfect being, and among his perfections there is also absolute truthfulness. This means that human sensory knowledge is true. After all, God could not deceive people, since deception contradicts the idea of him as a perfect being.
Duality of material and ideal
Descartes worked a lot on the main issue of philosophy, and in his judgments he demonstrated dualism - that is, the acceptance of two principles at once, material and ideal. But despite this, the scientist was a materialist in matters relating to the explanations of nature. The universe is made of matter and motion, there is no divine power in it. He also talked about animals, calling them complex machines.
But, as far as man is concerned, here we are talking about the immaterial soul and the participation of God. This concept was the dualistic attitude of the scientist. Descartes believed that the activity of the human soul cannot be explained on the basis of mechanical principles. Thought is not identified with bodily organs, it is pure spirit. The plasticity and adaptability of the soul proves its divine origin. The main difference between human thinking is universality, the ability to serve under various circumstances.
An equally important difference between a person and a machine (including animals), Descartes considered the presence of meaningful speech. He reasoned that even weak-minded people can use meaningful speech. Deaf-mutes invent a meaningful sign language. Animals, even if they are healthy and raised in ideal conditions, are incapable of such a thing. Animals have organs for pronouncing words, but they don't think like humans do.
Views on ethics and morality
The scientist's ethical views were based on the "natural light" of reason. Reasoning about ethics Descartes expressed in letters, writings and in the work "Discourse on the method." In relation to the thinker, the influence of Stoicism is noticeable. The ideas of Stoicism were based on courage and firmness, manifested in life's trials. The Stoics equalized people before the world law. They considered moral deeds as an act of self-preservation and the common good, and immoral deeds as self-destruction.
Then, in letters to Princess Elizabeth, Descartes described his own ideas of ethics. He argued that spirit and matter are opposite, and a person needs to move away from the bodily aspects. The thinker described the idea of "the infinity of the universe", which consisted in the rise above the material, earthly, and in humility before the wisdom of God.
The scientist believed that the highest form of intellectual love (as opposed to passionate) is love for God, as for that infinite whole, of which we are a part. Love, even disorderly, is higher than hate. The philosopher considered hatred an indicator of human weakness. He saw the essence of morality in the ability to love what is worthy of love. This gives a person true joy. Descartes condemned people who stifled their conscience with tobacco and alcohol.
Contribution to philosophy
Descartes courageously approached the questions of philosophy, insisting on a new attitude towards the truths on which science is based. He demanded to give up trust sensory knowledge(empiricism) to build a new world of philosophy. The foundations of science must stand the test of radical doubt. He demonstrated clarity and simplicity of thinking, relying on the fact of human self-consciousness as absolute truth. The thinker recognized metaphysics, but, analyzing nature, leaned towards mechanism. Therefore, in the future, materialists referred to him, whose views he did not share.
The teachings and views of Descartes gave rise to many disputes among representatives of philosophy and theology. The opponents of his teachings were Hobbes, the Jesuit Valois, Gassendi. They accused him of skepticism and atheism, they hounded him. But the thinker also had adherents of his theories in Holland and France.
Influence on various sciences
Descartes made an undeniable contribution to physiological and psychological anthropology. Not all of his views later turned out to be correct, but some ideas were extremely important. The fundamental discovery in the field of psychology was his idea of reflexes and reflex activity. Also, he studied the nature of affects - bodily states that act as regulators of the psyche. The term "affects" is also used in modern world as certain emotional states.
Descartes made a number of important discoveries in mathematics. He became the founder of analytic geometry, created the method of indefinite coefficients, worked on understanding the meaning of negative roots of equations. One of his most significant achievements is his way of showing the nature and properties of any curve using equations between a pair of variable coordinates. The works of Descartes opened up new possibilities for scientists in geometry. On the foundation laid by the thinker, brilliant and extremely important discoveries were built. The works "Geometry" and "Dioptrics" published by him revealed the themes of the refraction of light rays. In the future, this served as the foundation for the great discoveries of Newton and Leibniz.
(1596-1650) French philosopher
The future philosopher was born in the south of France, in the province of Touraine, in the family of a parliamentary adviser, French nobleman Joachim Descartes. The Cartesian family, devoutly Catholic and royalist, has long settled in Poitou and Touraine. In these provinces were their land holdings and family estates.
René's mother, Jeanne Brochard, was the daughter of Lieutenant General René Brochard. She died early, when the boy was only a year old. Rene was in poor health, inherited, as he said, from his mother a slight cough and pallor of the face.
The family of Rene Descartes was enlightened at that time, and its members took part in the cultural life of the country. One of the philosopher's ancestors, Pierre Descartes, was a doctor of medicine. Another relative of Descartes, a skilled surgeon and an expert on kidney diseases, was also a doctor. Maybe that's why Rene had an interest in anatomy, physiology and medicine from an early age.
On the other hand, the grandfather of the future thinker was on friendly terms with the poet Gaspard d "Auvergne, who gained fame for his translations of the Italian politician Niccolo Machiavelli and correspondence with the famous French poet P. Ronsard.
True, Rene's father was a typical nobleman and landowner, who cared more about expanding his estates and bureaucratic career than about the development of scientific and literary horizons. But the cultural traditions in the family were supported by women. Rene's mother came from the maternal side of the Sauze family, who for a number of years were the curators of the royal library of the University of Poitiers.
In early childhood, René Descartes lived with his parents in the small town of Lae, which was located on the banks of a small river that flows into a tributary of the Loire. All around stretched fields, vineyards, orchards. From childhood, the boy fell in love with secluded walks in the garden, where he could observe the life of plants, animals and insects. Rene was brought up with his older brother Pierre and sister Jeanne, whom he kept a good memory of for the rest of his life.
When the boy grew up, his father took him to a Jesuit college that had just opened in the town of La Flèche (Anjou province). At the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, the well-known order of the "brothers of Jesus" was famous for its educational institutions. The college at La Flèche was the best among them and was considered one of the most famous schools in Europe, outstanding figures of science and literature came out of the walls of this educational institution.
Strict orders reigned here, but, contrary to the established rules, Rene Descartes was allowed to sleep not in a common dormitory, but in a separate room; moreover, he was allowed to stay in bed in the morning as much as he liked and not attend the morning classes, which were obligatory for everyone. So he developed a habit of thinking, lying in bed in the morning, mathematical and other problems and lessons. René Descartes retained this habit for the rest of his life, although the questions and subjects of his thoughts subsequently completely changed.
The college taught not only rhetoric, grammar, theology, and scholastic, that is, medieval, school philosophy, which were mandatory for that time. The curriculum also included mathematics and elements of the physical sciences.
The training began with the assimilation of the basics of Latin grammar. As material for reading and exercises, they gave works of ancient poetry, including Ovid's Metamorphoses, as well as biographies of famous heroes. Ancient Greece And ancient Rome. Latin was not studied as a dead language that can only be used to read ancient authors - no, the students of the college had to write and speak it. And indeed, subsequently Descartes had to use Latin several times as a spoken language: for the first time - during his stay in Holland, and then - in France, when defending theses in a dispute. The writings of René Descartes, which he intended mainly for scientists, theologians and students, were also written in Latin. Some of the letters of Descartes are also written in Latin, and even some notes that he made for himself, for example, notes on anatomy. It is no coincidence that the philosophical system, the author of which was René Descartes, was called Cartesianism - after the Latinized form of his name (Cartesius).
When Rene was in high school, which the college called philosophical, he invented his own method of proof and stood out from the rest of the students with his ability to debate. Descartes began by precisely defining all the terms that were included in the reasoning, then he sought to substantiate all the provisions that needed to be proved and coordinate them with each other. As a result, he reduced his entire proof to one single argument, but so strong and thorough that it turned out to be a very difficult task to refute it. This method not only surprised Descartes' teachers, but often confused them.
There is very little information about his life in La Flèche, and it is unlikely that there were many interesting external events in it. Rene Descartes studied a lot, and even more thought about what he read in books and about what could not be found in any books of that time.
After graduating from the course, he, as was customary there, donated all his school books to the collegiate library, making his own inscriptions on them. Descartes left the school where he spent at least ten years of his life, on good terms with his mentors and leaders, but in deep doubts about the reliability of what they taught him.
These doubts were not dispelled by additional studies in jurisprudence and medicine, to which Rene Descartes began after completing the philosophy course at La Flèche. These classes were most likely held in the university town of Poitiers in 1615-1616. Here, on November 10, 1616, Descartes was approved as a bachelor and licentiate of law. After leaving school, the brilliantly educated Rene went to Paris. Here he plunges into the secular Parisian life and indulges in all its charms, including card games.
So Rene Descartes gradually became a scientist, although his father dreamed of a military career for his son, of his rapid promotion, with awards and promotions, of beneficial connections and patrons for the family. René did not formally object to his father's advice to enter the military service, but he had his own special views on this.
He did not want to become, as it is now commonly called, a career soldier and receive an officer's salary for his service. It seemed to him much more convenient the position of a volunteer, who is only listed in the military service, but does not receive money and remains free from duties and service dependence.
At the same time, the military rank and uniform gave Descartes certain advantages in his future plans: he outlined for himself an extensive program of educational trips to other countries. In the 17th century, roads in European countries were not safe, so it was safer and more convenient to travel with troops than alone.
Now René Descartes had to choose which army to join. Due to his social position, family and personal connections, he could easily achieve enrollment in one of the French regiments in the country. But with his special goals in mind, Descartes decided to enlist in the Dutch army.
In the summer of 1618 he left his native land and went to Holland. At first he lived in Breda, where his regiment was stationed. But he did not stay long in Holland. He really liked this country, and yet he decided to go further in order to explore the world not from books, but to see everything with his own eyes. He wanted to visit a number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, get acquainted with their sights, and establish contacts with scientists.
In August 1619, René Descartes was in Frankfurt, where he witnessed the coronation of Ferdinand II. There he was caught by the Thirty Years' War, in which he even took part.
René Descartes spent the winter of 1619-1620 in one of the village estates in complete solitude, far from everything that could scatter his thoughts and attention. On the night of November 10, 1619, an event occurred to him, which subsequently gave rise to many interpretations. During that night he had three dreams, one after the other, which were evidently prepared and inspired by great mental exertion. At that time, the thoughts of the philosopher were occupied by several ideas - "universal mathematics", the idea of \u200b\u200btransforming algebra, and, finally, the idea of \u200b\u200ba method of expressing all quantities through lines, and lines - through algebraic characteristics. One of these ideas, after long intense reflections, lit up the consciousness of Descartes in a dream, in which, of course, there was nothing mysterious and supernatural.
In the spring of 1620, René Descartes left his winter retreat and decided to return to France. After living for some time in Paris, he undertook a journey to Italy. At that time, this country was considered the world center of science and artistic culture. His path lay through Switzerland and Tyrol, through Basel, Innsbruck, then through mountain passes and the Italian plain to the shores of the Adriatic Sea and the lagoons of Venice. Descartes traveled not only as a young inquisitive scientist, but also as a man of the world. He carefully observed human manners, customs and ceremonies. At first he intended to stay and live in Italy for several years, but after a while, without much regret, he left this country and returned to Paris.
Here Rene Descartes led a completely secular life, corresponding to the mores of that time. He had fun, played cards, even fought duels, visited theaters, attended concerts, read fashionable novels, poetry. However, secular entertainment did not interfere with the inner life of the philosopher, intense mental work was constantly going on in his head, a new view of science and philosophy was being formed. The main feature of his philosophy is the desire to reveal the fundamental principle of everything that exists, material, and the thinker considered doubt to be the main thing for achieving this goal. The outside world will reveal its laws if everything is subjected to careful critical analysis. The philosopher believed in the power of human thinking, and his famous phrase remained in the history of mankind for centuries: "I think - therefore, I exist."
The attention of Rene Descartes was also attracted by the questions of optics, mechanics, physics, which were dealt with by many advanced the scholars of that time. But he went further: he introduced mathematical analysis into physics, which allowed him to penetrate even deeper into the secrets of mathematical constructions than his contemporaries could do. To work in a calm environment, the scientist again went to Holland.
Rene Descartes continues to conduct extensive correspondence, he is recognized by everyone, he is a great mathematician, the creator of a new philosophical system. The Swedish queen Christina, through Pierre Chan, a close friend of Descartes, with whom he corresponded, sends an invitation to Descartes to come to Sweden. According to Pierre Chanu, the Swedish queen would like to study Cartesian philosophy under the guidance of its creator. He hesitates for a long time whether to go or not to go: after warm France and cozy Holland - to the harsh country of rocks and ice. But Shanu eventually convinced his friend, and Descartes agrees. August 31, 1649 he arrives in Stockholm.
The next day, Rene Descartes was received by the Swedish Queen Christina, who promised that she would meet the great scientist in everything, that the rhythm of his work would not be disturbed in any way, that she would free him from the presence of tiresome court ceremonies. And one more thing: she would like Descartes to stay forever in Sweden. But the life of the court was not to the taste of the French mathematician.
Out of envy, the royal courtiers wove intrigues against him.
Queen Christina instructed Rene Descartes to develop the charter of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, which she was going to establish, and also offered him the post of president of the Academy, but he rejected this offer, thanking him for the high honor, and motivated his refusal by the fact that he was a foreigner. In the meantime, the queen decided to start philosophy classes, three times a week from five to nine in the morning, because, being energetic and cheerful, she got up at four in the morning. For Rene Descartes, this meant a violation of the daily routine, the usual regime.
The winter was unusually cold, and the scientist fell ill with pneumonia. Every day he got worse, and on the ninth day of illness, February 11, 1650, Descartes died, at the age of only fifty-four years, his friends and acquaintances flatly refused to believe the message of his death. The greatest thinker of France was buried in Stockholm in an ordinary cemetery. Only in 1666, his ashes were transported to France, as a precious asset of the nation, which he is quite rightly considered to this day. Scientific and philosophical ideas Rene Descartes survived both himself and his time.
Rene Descartes is a mathematician, philosopher, physiologist, mechanic and physicist, whose ideas and discoveries played a big role in the development of several scientific branches at once. He developed algebraic symbolism, which we still use to this day, became the "father" of analytical geometry, laid the foundation for the development of reflexology, created a mechanism in physics - and these are far from all achievements.
Childhood and youth
René Descartes was born in Lae on March 31, 1596. Subsequently, the name of this city was renamed "Descartes". Rene's parents were representatives of an old noble family, which in the 16th century could barely make ends meet. Rene became the third son in the family. When Descartes was 1 year old, his mother died suddenly. The father of the future famous scientist worked as a judge in another city, so he rarely visited his children. Therefore, after the death of his mother, the grandmother undertook to raise Descartes Jr.
From an early age, Rene showed an amazing curiosity and desire for knowledge. However, he was in fragile health. The boy received his first education at the Jesuit College of La Flèche. This educational institution was distinguished by a strict regime, but Descartes, given his state of health, was made indulgent in this regime. For example, he could wake up later than other students.
Like most colleges of the time, education at La Flèche was religious in nature. And although study meant a lot to the young Descartes, this orientation of the educational system gave rise to and strengthened in him a critical attitude towards the philosophical authorities of that time.
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After completing his studies at the college, René went to Poitiers, where he received a bachelor's degree in law. Then he spent some time in the French capital, and in 1617 he entered military service. The mathematician participated in hostilities in Holland, which was then absorbed by the revolution, as well as in a short battle for Prague. In Holland, Descartes became friends with the physicist Isaac Beckmann.
Then Rene lived in Paris for some time, and when the followers of the Jesuits found out about his bold ideas, he went back to Holland, where he lived for 20 years. Throughout his life, he was persecuted and attacked by the church for progressive ideas that outstripped the level of development of science in the 16th-17th centuries.
Philosophy
The philosophical doctrine of Rene Descartes was characterized by dualism: he believed that there is both an ideal substance and a material one. Both began to be recognized by him as independent. The concept of Rene Descartes also implies the recognition of the presence in our world of two types of entities: thinking and extended. The scientist believed that the source of both entities is God. He forms them according to the same laws, creates matter in parallel with its rest and movement, and also preserves substances.
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Rene Descartes saw a peculiar universal method of cognition in rationalism. At the same time, the scientist considered knowledge itself a prerequisite for the fact that man will dominate the forces of nature. According to Descartes, the possibilities of reason are constrained by the imperfection of man, his differences from the perfect God. Rene's reasoning about knowledge in this vein, in fact, laid the foundation for rationalism.
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The starting point of most of the searches of Rene Descartes in the field of philosophy was a doubt about the veracity, infallibility of knowledge that is generally recognized. Descartes' quote "I think, therefore I am" is conditioned by these reasonings. The philosopher stated that every person can doubt the existence of his body and even the outer world as a whole. But at the same time, this doubt will remain unambiguously existing.
Mathematics and physics
The main philosophical and mathematical result of the work of Rene Descartes was the writing of the book "Discourse on the Method". The book contains several appendices. One application contained the basics of analytic geometry. Another application included the rules for the study of optical instruments and phenomena, Descartes' achievements in this field (for the first time he correctly compiled the law of refraction of light), and so on.
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The scientist introduced the exponent used now, the line above the expression, which is taken as a root, began to designate unknowns with the symbols “x, y, z”, and constant values with the symbols “a, b, c”. The mathematician also developed the canonical form of equations, which is still used today in solving (when zero appears on the right side of the equation).
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Another achievement of Rene Descartes, important for the improvement of mathematics and physics, is the development of a coordinate system. The scientist introduced it in order to make it possible to describe the geometric properties of bodies and curves in the language of classical algebra. In other words, it was Rene Descartes who made it possible to analyze the equation of a curve in the Cartesian coordinate system, a special case of which is the well-known rectangular system. This innovation also allowed for a much more detailed and accurate interpretation of negative numbers.
The mathematician explored algebraic and "mechanical" functions, while arguing that there is no single method for studying transcendental functions. Descartes mainly studied real numbers, but began to take complex numbers into account as well. He introduced the concept of imaginary negative roots, conjugated with the concept of complex numbers.
Research in the field of mathematics, geometry, optics and physics subsequently became the basis of the scientific works of Euler and a number of other scientists. All mathematicians of the second half of the 17th century based their theories on the work of René Descartes.
Descartes method
The scientist believed that experience is necessary only to help the mind in those situations where it is impossible to come to the truth solely by reflection. Throughout his scientific life, Descartes carried four main components of the method of searching for truth:
- It is necessary to start from the most obvious, not subject to doubt. From that, the opposite of which is even impossible to admit.
- Any problem should be divided into as many small parts as it takes to achieve its productive solution.
- You should start with a simple one, from which you need to gradually move to more and more complex.
- At each stage, it is necessary to double-check the correctness of the conclusions drawn up in order to be confident in the objectivity of the knowledge obtained based on the results of the study.
The researchers note that these rules, which Descartes invariably used when creating works, clearly demonstrate the desire European culture XVII century to the rejection of outdated rules and to the construction of a new, progressive and objective science.
Personal life
Little is known about the personal life of René Descartes. Contemporaries argued that in society he was arrogant and silent, preferred solitude to companies, but in the circle of close people he could be amazingly active in communication. René apparently did not have a wife.
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In adulthood, he was in love with a maid who bore him a daughter, Francine. The girl was illegitimately born, but Descartes fell in love with her very much. Francine died at the age of five due to scarlet fever. The scientist called her death the biggest tragedy of his life.
Death
Over the years, René Descartes has been hounded for his fresh perspective on science. In 1649 he moved to Stockholm, where he was invited by the Swedish Queen Christina. Descartes corresponded with the latter for many years. Christina was amazed at the genius of the scientist and promised him a quiet life in the capital of her state. Alas, Rene did not enjoy life in Stockholm for long: soon after the move, he caught a cold. The cold quickly developed into pneumonia. The scientist passed away on February 11, 1650.
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There is an opinion that Descartes died not because of pneumonia, but because of poisoning. Agents of the Catholic Church, which did not like the presence of a free-thinking scientist next to the Queen of Sweden, could act as poisoners. last Catholic Church intended to convert, which happened four years after the death of René. To date, this version has not received objective confirmation, but many researchers are inclined to it.
Quotes
- The main effect of all human passions is that they impel and attune the soul of a person to desire what these passions prepare his body for.
- In most disputes, one mistake can be noticed: while the truth lies between two defended views, each of the latter moves away from it the farther away from it, the more fervently it argues.
- The common mortal sympathizes with those who complain more, because he thinks that the grief of those who complain is very great, while the main reason for the compassion of great people is the weakness of those from whom they hear complaints.
- Philosophy, insofar as it extends to everything accessible to human knowledge, alone distinguishes us from savages and barbarians, and every people is all the more civic and educated, the better they philosophize in it; therefore there is no greater good for the state than to have true philosophers.
- The inquisitive seeks out rarities only to wonder at them; the inquisitive is then to get to know them and stop being surprised.
Bibliography
- Philosophy of spirit and matter by René Descartes
- Rules to guide the mind
- Finding Truth Through Natural Light
- The World, or a Treatise on Light
- Discussing the Method for Rightly Directing Your Mind and Seeking Truth in the Sciences
- Philosophy
- Description of the human body. on the education of an animal
- Remarks on a program published in Belgium at the end of 1647 under the title: An explanation of the human mind, or rational soul, which explains what it is and what it can be
- Passions of the soul
- Reflections on the first philosophy, in which the existence of God is proved and the difference between the human soul and body
- Objections of some pundits to the above "Reflections" with the answers of the author
- To the venerable Father Dina, Provincial Superior of France
- Conversation with Burman
- Geometry
- Cosmogony: Two treatises
- Philosophy
- Reflections on First Philosophy