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Discourse on Method, Meditations of First Philosophy & Principles of Philosophy
With the celebrated words 'I think therefore I am', Descartes' compelling argument swept aside ancient and medieval traditions. He deduced that human beings consist of minds and bodies; that these are totally distinct 'substances'; that God exists and that He ensures we can trust the evidence of our senses.
Ushering in the 'scientific revolution' of Galileo and Newton, Descartes' ideas have also set the agenda for debate ever since.
By calling everything into doubt, Descartes laid the foundations of modern philosophy.
Ushering in the 'scientific revolution' of Galileo and Newton, Descartes' ideas have also set the agenda for debate ever since.
By calling everything into doubt, Descartes laid the foundations of modern philosophy.
131 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2012
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74 people want to read
About the author
René Descartes
1,561 books2,324 followers
Meditations on First Philosophy
(1641) and
Principles of Philosophy
(1644), main works of French mathematician and scientist René Descartes, considered the father of analytic geometry and the founder of modern rationalism, include the famous dictum "I think, therefore I am."
A set of two perpendicular lines in a plane or three in space intersect at an origin in Cartesian coordinate system. Cartesian coordinate, a member of the set of numbers, distances, locates a point in this system. Cartesian coordinates describe all points of a Cartesian plane.
From given sets, {X} and {Y}, one can construct Cartesian product, a set of all pairs of elements (x, y), such that x belongs to {X} and y belongs to {Y}.
Cartesian philosophers include Antoine Arnauld.
René Descartes, a writer, highly influenced society. People continue to study closely his writings and subsequently responded in the west. He of the key figures in the revolution also apparently influenced the named coordinate system, used in planes and algebra.
Descartes frequently sets his views apart from those of his predecessors. In the opening section of the Passions of the Soul , a treatise on the early version of now commonly called emotions, he goes so far to assert that he writes on his topic "as if no one had written on these matters before." Many elements in late Aristotelianism, the revived Stoicism of the 16th century, or earlier like Saint Augustine of Hippo provide precedents. Naturally, he differs from the schools on two major points: He rejects corporeal substance into matter and form and any appeal to divine or natural ends in explaining natural phenomena. In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of act of creation of God.
Baruch Spinoza and Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz later advocated Descartes, a major figure in 17th century Continent, and the empiricist school of thought, consisting of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume, opposed him. Leibniz and Descartes, all well versed like Spinoza, contributed greatly. Descartes, the crucial bridge with algebra, invented the coordinate system and calculus. Reflections of Descartes on mind and mechanism began the strain of western thought; much later, the invention of the electronic computer and the possibility of machine intelligence impelled this thought, which blossomed into the Turing test and related thought. His stated most in §7 of part I and in part IV of Discourse on the Method .
A set of two perpendicular lines in a plane or three in space intersect at an origin in Cartesian coordinate system. Cartesian coordinate, a member of the set of numbers, distances, locates a point in this system. Cartesian coordinates describe all points of a Cartesian plane.
From given sets, {X} and {Y}, one can construct Cartesian product, a set of all pairs of elements (x, y), such that x belongs to {X} and y belongs to {Y}.
Cartesian philosophers include Antoine Arnauld.
René Descartes, a writer, highly influenced society. People continue to study closely his writings and subsequently responded in the west. He of the key figures in the revolution also apparently influenced the named coordinate system, used in planes and algebra.
Descartes frequently sets his views apart from those of his predecessors. In the opening section of the Passions of the Soul , a treatise on the early version of now commonly called emotions, he goes so far to assert that he writes on his topic "as if no one had written on these matters before." Many elements in late Aristotelianism, the revived Stoicism of the 16th century, or earlier like Saint Augustine of Hippo provide precedents. Naturally, he differs from the schools on two major points: He rejects corporeal substance into matter and form and any appeal to divine or natural ends in explaining natural phenomena. In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of act of creation of God.
Baruch Spinoza and Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz later advocated Descartes, a major figure in 17th century Continent, and the empiricist school of thought, consisting of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume, opposed him. Leibniz and Descartes, all well versed like Spinoza, contributed greatly. Descartes, the crucial bridge with algebra, invented the coordinate system and calculus. Reflections of Descartes on mind and mechanism began the strain of western thought; much later, the invention of the electronic computer and the possibility of machine intelligence impelled this thought, which blossomed into the Turing test and related thought. His stated most in §7 of part I and in part IV of Discourse on the Method .
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 22, 2017
Descartes is a good writer, surprisingly good. This compilation of his most important philosophical works gives a nice redundancy to his body of work and most of Descartes' ideas get repeated in such a way that the listener will have no problem understanding most of his major points.
One should never rely on other authors' summaries of a original philosophical works especially when they are from non-philosophical books, because they seem to always highlight the wrong points in order to make their points while ignoring the real worth of the thinker.
There is no doubt that modern philosophy starts with Descartes. The process becomes the focus not the event itself. Our truths are no longing waiting to be discovered with an ontological rationality derived from a set of principals based on the hypothesized order of the universe, but a process awaiting to be invented through a disentangling of the subjective from the objective world. (Humans no longer discover truth they invent it).
There is another really interesting philosophy of science point that is within these readings. It is our understanding that closes the ontological difference between the subject/object, the word/thing, the Noumenal/Phenomenal. His example involved wax and it's shape, but in the interest of expediency I'll just say that gravity is an intuition. It is our understanding that closes the gap because one will never see the gravity. We can only understand it. Descartes gets that point, and that is one of the reasons why he is very important today.
Overall, Descartes is a great thinker and a very good writer. I would recommend Spinoza's Ethics after reading this one. Spinoza respects Descartes but he'll try to refute him by using the same premises. It doesn't matter which one is correct (to me). The most interesting part is how they get at their conclusions. Philosophy is fun and this kind of books show why.
One should never rely on other authors' summaries of a original philosophical works especially when they are from non-philosophical books, because they seem to always highlight the wrong points in order to make their points while ignoring the real worth of the thinker.
There is no doubt that modern philosophy starts with Descartes. The process becomes the focus not the event itself. Our truths are no longing waiting to be discovered with an ontological rationality derived from a set of principals based on the hypothesized order of the universe, but a process awaiting to be invented through a disentangling of the subjective from the objective world. (Humans no longer discover truth they invent it).
There is another really interesting philosophy of science point that is within these readings. It is our understanding that closes the ontological difference between the subject/object, the word/thing, the Noumenal/Phenomenal. His example involved wax and it's shape, but in the interest of expediency I'll just say that gravity is an intuition. It is our understanding that closes the gap because one will never see the gravity. We can only understand it. Descartes gets that point, and that is one of the reasons why he is very important today.
Overall, Descartes is a great thinker and a very good writer. I would recommend Spinoza's Ethics after reading this one. Spinoza respects Descartes but he'll try to refute him by using the same premises. It doesn't matter which one is correct (to me). The most interesting part is how they get at their conclusions. Philosophy is fun and this kind of books show why.
November 9, 2020
Beautifully narrated presentation of Descartes’ seminal work.
Though he was forced by his Culture to posit the existence of God and based a lot of his theory on that hypothesis, he did a lot to influence the development of Western Philosophy. This collection of his Discourse and Meditations is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the Dominant Worldview of Europe and the Americas.
Though he was forced by his Culture to posit the existence of God and based a lot of his theory on that hypothesis, he did a lot to influence the development of Western Philosophy. This collection of his Discourse and Meditations is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the Dominant Worldview of Europe and the Americas.
October 16, 2020
It is surprising that he wants to prove the existence of God with triangles. For the most part, I did not understood many things listening to the book, but have respect for the high logic of the writer.
March 16, 2022
Decartes is seen as the father of modern philosophy and this book combining a good number of his treaties really shows why. His fluency in Mathematics, metaphysics, epistemology astronomy, biology and other fields is truly outstanding. I specifically loved the logical method through which he established that God must exist although I may not agree with some of his arguments to that regard.
Some of the interesting points I noted:
1. Started most things from scratch and doesn't believe in something he can't prove
2. Try to change yourself first instead of society
3. All men are given the same strength of reason, only that we apply it in different directions
4. I think therefore I am (cogito ergo sum)
5. Nature is made of compositions, and compositions create dependencies. Any perfect being is independent while imperfect ones are. If we can reason about perfect things we can't achieve, then there must be a higher being under whos composition we exist. If we were perfect, then we couldn't reason about other perfect things outside our reach
6. Since we are not perfect but still reason about perfections and other concepts which are beyond what we can perceive, then there necessarily exist a perfect being by the agency of whom we are able to reason about this i.e God
7. The body is infinitely divisible, hence Decartes can be said to not believe in the initial concept of the atom which by the way is no longer the smallest indivisible unit of matter by modern physics standards
8. The mind unlike the body is indivisible.
There are so many more points at the core of modern philosophy and science which are established in this book. In general, it was a great read.
Some of the interesting points I noted:
1. Started most things from scratch and doesn't believe in something he can't prove
2. Try to change yourself first instead of society
3. All men are given the same strength of reason, only that we apply it in different directions
4. I think therefore I am (cogito ergo sum)
5. Nature is made of compositions, and compositions create dependencies. Any perfect being is independent while imperfect ones are. If we can reason about perfect things we can't achieve, then there must be a higher being under whos composition we exist. If we were perfect, then we couldn't reason about other perfect things outside our reach
6. Since we are not perfect but still reason about perfections and other concepts which are beyond what we can perceive, then there necessarily exist a perfect being by the agency of whom we are able to reason about this i.e God
7. The body is infinitely divisible, hence Decartes can be said to not believe in the initial concept of the atom which by the way is no longer the smallest indivisible unit of matter by modern physics standards
8. The mind unlike the body is indivisible.
There are so many more points at the core of modern philosophy and science which are established in this book. In general, it was a great read.
November 24, 2021
Obviously a fundamental work of philosophy. Rather interesting read, not too easy, not too hard (compared to other works of philosophy). I like Decartes' more common-sense approach to rhetoric (as opposed to overly formalized). This was my first exploratory read, so many details I missed. However, what I read about skepticism, the existence of god, and the build-up to the Cartesian coordinate system was a rather fascinating read. I will definitely re-read this book while making notes and records.
May 8, 2023
I would say that everyone should read Discourse on Method, but the writing is such that it isn't incredibly accessible to a modern audience, especially one with a different educational background than Descartes himself. So instead I will say that everyone should go learn what they need to to understand Discourse on Method, and then read it. You don't have to agree with every idea presented (I certainly don't) for it to change the way you think for the better.
July 15, 2022
Great but heavy read. A good book to find a better way to think and to progress beyond standard thought.
January 13, 2023
Readable, Enjoyable, Flawed.
March 5, 2025
I enjoyed the Discourse on Method. I found Rene's religious noodlings less appealing.
July 25, 2022
"The truth itself will readily lead the remainder of the ingeneous and the learned to subscribe to your judgment and your authority will cause the atheists who are in general sialists rather than ingeneous or learned to lay aside the spirit of contradiction and lead them perhaps to do battle in their own persons for reasonings which they find considered demonstrations by all men of genius lest they should seem not to understand them." The result being that "there will no longer be anyone who would venture to doubt either the existence of god or the real distinction of mind and body"
This passage, much like Descartes method is a contradiction. To assume that the belief in a higher power is the very virtue of his method, yet one in which he states he is able to be decieved by God, yet knows God is real despite that he cannot understand him implies that Descartes doesnt quite have a full understanding of what his argument is.
This passage, much like Descartes method is a contradiction. To assume that the belief in a higher power is the very virtue of his method, yet one in which he states he is able to be decieved by God, yet knows God is real despite that he cannot understand him implies that Descartes doesnt quite have a full understanding of what his argument is.
July 17, 2022
Prolix.
Smart guy, though.
Smart guy, though.
September 15, 2020
To read one of the great western thinkers has its advantages.
For example from the book “A Discourse on Method. Meditations on the First Philosophy: Principles of Philosophy ”by René Descartes I learned from where his idea of“ I doubt therefore I think, I think therefore I am ” comes from.
Descartes says that his book and his thinking are based only on demonstrable realities, and that in studying them he goes from the simple to the complex. You first have to prove that you exist before proceeding with your ideas and thoughts, and the way to do it is his famous phrase.
However, when he speaks of the existence of God, of the immortality of the soul, it is noted that he completely forgot his premise that everything was going to be proven.
And then when he talks about the physical universe, the stars, the senses of the human body; it is noticeable that his knowledge with those of 1617.
Few parts of the book are worth reading today, but what is worth it is that he created the seeds of modernism and science today.
For example from the book “A Discourse on Method. Meditations on the First Philosophy: Principles of Philosophy ”by René Descartes I learned from where his idea of“ I doubt therefore I think, I think therefore I am ” comes from.
Descartes says that his book and his thinking are based only on demonstrable realities, and that in studying them he goes from the simple to the complex. You first have to prove that you exist before proceeding with your ideas and thoughts, and the way to do it is his famous phrase.
However, when he speaks of the existence of God, of the immortality of the soul, it is noted that he completely forgot his premise that everything was going to be proven.
And then when he talks about the physical universe, the stars, the senses of the human body; it is noticeable that his knowledge with those of 1617.
Few parts of the book are worth reading today, but what is worth it is that he created the seeds of modernism and science today.
March 19, 2015
As we approach the 500th anniversary of the publication of this work, I find myself wondering how someone of such great influence, probably well deserved; could have been right about so much while having so much bad information scattered through the work. It is his key contribution (skepticism of virtually everything) that led to furthering the scientific paradigm - but his observations were so clearly off the mark in important details. How might his followers have gotten past those bumps in the road without throwing out the basic tactic?
December 25, 2019
I confess I came to Descartes with apprehension as I believed that he would blow my mind. He did, but in a very approachable way. I come away not as an expert, but my mind was stretched and I believe these two works are something I can return to and continue to stretch my mind.
I expected mathematics rightly or wrongly and came away with philosophy and an approach to using my mind to create my own view of the world.
Excellent and highly recommended.
I expected mathematics rightly or wrongly and came away with philosophy and an approach to using my mind to create my own view of the world.
Excellent and highly recommended.
December 28, 2021
This book has left me with one big hulking question: would Descartes still believe or try to make us believe in God as strongly as he does if he was alive today.
Take God out of the equation of his philosophy and what do you have left... Not much more than 'I think, therefore I am'.
Take God out of the equation of his philosophy and what do you have left... Not much more than 'I think, therefore I am'.
May 28, 2012
Don't want what you can't have.
Chapter 5 was a total loss.
Chapter 5 was a total loss.
November 21, 2021
Surely we must be related, but then what would that mean if anything at all.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews