Universe as a Set of Rational Relations - Essay Example

In his dis de la methode, Rene Descartes resumes his famous cogitative method of intellectual enquiry in the following line "Thus what I thought I had seen with my eyes, I actually grasped solely with the faculty of judgment, which is my mind." Discuss the particular significance of this key sentence placing particular emphasis on it link to describe the universe as a set of rational relations. INTRODUCTION In this essay the basic worldview of the philosopher Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) will be evaluated from a predominately Jungian Depth Psychological perspective. In the first part (following this introduction) Descartes way of thinking will be discussed and evaluated. It will be argued that whilst there is much to applaud Descartes on he misses out the unconscious (which Jungians argue is the majority of the psyche) Then in (a brief) part 2 (brief due to space limitation) Descartes views on the rational universe will be discussed and evaluated. In this part of the essay the evaluation will be more black and white in that Descartes model of the universe as separating mind, body, and external world is contradicted by many people's experiences of synchronicities and precognitive phenomena. Thus whilst this is admittedly unknown to physics, there is clearly an inextricable link to the inner and outer worlds. PART 1 Rene Descartes was a major philosopher of the seventeenth century, belonging to the school of continental rationalism. Descartes sets out in his Discourse on Method to doubt all that could be doubted, albeit not to end up believing in nothing, but rather so that he would believe in only that which really was true. Descartes writes "I made it my business in each matter to reflect particularly upon what might fairly be doubted and prove a source of error, [hence] I gradually rooted out from my mind all the errors which had hitherto crept into it. Not that in this I imitated the skeptics who doubt only that they may doubt, and seek nothing beyond uncertainty itself; for, on the contrary, my design was singly to find ground of assurance, and cast aside the loose earth and sand, that I might reach the rock or the clay." (Descartes, 1989, p27) Shortly after setting out his mission (quoted above) Descartes famously declares "I think, hence I am, [this is] so certain and of such evidence that no ground of doubt, however extravagant, could be alleged by the skeptics capable of shaking it, [therefore] I concluded that I might, without scruple, accept it as the first principle of the philosophy of which I was in search." (Descartes, 1989, p30) This is fair enough from a depth psychological perspective. Although psychic energy (particularly archetypal energy) is more usually regarded as Jungian Depth Psychology's starting point due to psychic energy being primordial and universal. It is the view of Jungians that it took millenia's of human psychological evolution to produce humans like Descartes who are capable of such great attentitive, focused, reflective thought. Nevertheless, for Descartes, he was primarily focused on this own individual self, and for that reason his starting point is accepted here. "Thus what I thought I had seen with my eyes, I actually grasped solely with the faculty of judgment, which is in my mind." (Descartes) We can be certain of psychic reality. We can be largely certain of much physical reality but what Descartes is saying here, is that outer objects may not be seen as they really are. We have no way of knowing. We cannot get beyond human limitations. Where Jungian Depth Psychology parts from Descartes is in limiting his thinking to one type directed consciousness thinking. But before coming to that we can briefly state what is positive in this Cartesian method. It has already been noted that it took millenia's of evolution to reach the stage where one could reflect, think, be attentive and focused in the way that Descartes was. Because for Descartes, the true way of living was to 'think'. A thinking thing must think in order to be healthy. For Descartes this thinking must be free from passion and prejudice if it is to be healthy and if it is to "operate with perfect rational clarity and thereby attain certain knowledge"1 Descartes (as good as) perfects 'directed thinking' appropriate to his 'pre Freud' and 'pre Jung' time and place. Directed thinking is "deliberate, organized and purposeful [it is] subject to proof and evaluation. It develops slowly and is to be found above all in modern science." (Segal, 1998, p109) Segal here is summarizing Carl Jung's thoughts. To quote Jung directly, Jung says ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Footnote 1: Webb, E, (Website) "The clearest expression of modern directed thinking is science and the techniques fostered by it." (Jung in Segal, 1998, p117) But Jungian Depth Psychology, whilst acknowledging and paying tribute to this evolution of consciousness and whilst not thinking that anyone and everyone masters it2 Descartes made the mistake of thinking that consciousness was all that was relevant to the human psyche. "The point however is open to criticism What about sleep... How should we consider all those moments of inattention of distraction Our slips of the tongue Our dreams These objections have to be answered and the unconscious state explained." (Carfantan, S, & Lamm, C) Indeed. And lets give an example of 'unconscious thought' from Pierre Janet who was an influence on Jung. "While suggestions are generally given by others, fixed ideas usually develop as a result of accidental causes, such as traumatic experiences and hysterical episodes. They tend to dominate the mind completely in dreams and somuamholistic states. They also disturb normal consciousness during the waking state by sending messages to it. For example Janet wrote of a woman walking on the street. She had short ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Footnote 2: On the contrary. Millions of modern people are still too lethargic and non-thinking in the Descartes sense. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ dissociative episodes in which she made a curious jumping motion. In hypnosis Janet discovered that she was reenacting her suicide attempt: a jump into the Seine Many case examples were cited [by Janet] to show how mental accidents such as tics paralyses and contractures are based on fixed ideas. In most cased, patients are amnestic to these fixed ideas." (Hart & Friedman) Part 2 Here we take a brief look at Descartes dualism and basically discard it due to the experience of countless human beings that contradicts it. Cartesian metaphysics regards mind and world as separate. More than this it regards mind and body as separate. Jung and the Nobel Prize winning prize winning physicist, Wolfgang Pauli expounded the hypothesis of a unity between psyche and universe which is (as said) in-tune with human experience of precognition and synchronistic phenomena. Hence they will have felt forced onto this ground. "Jung and Pauli arrived at a set of propositions about the nature of reality that mark a fundamental departure from the tenets of the worldview of modern science that has prevailed since Descartes. Jung and Pauli came to hold that the realm of mind, psyche, and the realm of matter, physis, are complementary aspects of the same transcendental reality, the unus mundus." (Card) Due to limits of space we can only conclude here by pointing to further reading. Perhaps a good starting point would be Marie Louise Von Franz' concluding chapter to Carl Jung's 'Man and His Symbols',1 where one can see clearly that Descartes, whilst a clear thinker (and no doubt better off for it) hadn't the genius foresight to be ahead of his time. Also in that text, Jung's introduction demonstrates the existence of the unconscious in basic language, again demonstrating how Descartes' era had failed to discover the unconscious. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ footnote 1: Jung, C, 1964 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BIBLIOGRAPHY Carfantan, S, & Lamm, C, (Website) The Hypothesis of the Unconscious Card, C, (Website), In Remembrance of Marie Louise Von Franz (1915-1998) Descartes, R, (1989), Discourse on Method and the Meditations (Prometheus Books) Hart, OV, Der, & Friedman, B, (Website), A Readers Guide to Pierre Janet on Dissociation: A Neglected Intellectual Heritage Jung, C, (1964), Man and His Symbols (Dell Publishing) Segal, R, (1998), Jung on Mythology (Routledge) Read More