Rene Descartes As The Father Of Modern Philosophy - Term Paper Example

Rene Descartes As The Father Of Modern Philosophy Introduction Rene Descartes is considered as the most influential philosopher of his time and is still considered as the father of modern philosophy. His overall contribution to the subject of philosophy and mathematics is considered as one of the significant contributions which is currently shaping the overall debates in philosophy. What is also significant to note that Descartes also contributed towards the development of early psychology and his view of the world is seen as something which is deeply rooted into defining the overall psychology? The notion of rationalism, mathematical understanding of the world and the method of radical doubt are some of the key concepts in his meditations which outline his unique view about the psychology also. A unique connection between psychology and philosophy may be hard to understand as psychology is considered as a pure science. However, the methods used by Psychologists to study the mind however are directly driven by philosophy and its underlying rules and methods. The contribution of therefore from philosophers like Descartes is considered as vital for the development of psychology as a field of study. Though the field of psychology as a serious discipline evolved little later however, Descartes was one of the early philosophers who attempted to discuss it from a different perspective at great length. Psychology however, developed later as field of science but its philosophical roots and the seriousness with which the mind as a metaphysical subject was perused started much earlier. (Turner, 1965) This paper will therefore attempt to discuss Descartes as philosopher and his contribution towards psychology. Rene Descartes- A General Introduction Rene Descartes is considered as the first modern philosopher and is known mostly for his work on the connection between algebra and geometry. This was an amazing contribution as it allowed the solution of geometric problems with the help of algebra. Descartes was born on 31st March 1596 to a father who was a lawyer and Magistrate. His mother died in the year of his birth therefore his and other siblings’ upbringing was mostly done by his grand mother. Since his father was a busy person therefore he remained out of the family matters for most part of his life. (Grene, 1998) His early education was in the Canon and Civil Law which he completed in year 1615 from University of Poitiers, France. However, at the age of 22 he enlisted himself in Army however; it is unclear as to what his exact duties were in Army. It is also however, believed that he was serving in the so called engineering wing of the army. It was also here that he developed his passion for mathematics and applied engineering as this unit was responsible for the development of different structures and machines to protect the soldiers during the battle. It is also however, further argued that Descartes may also have been involved in the education of the soldiers and therefore must have been involved in the development of education programs for the young noblemen who were part of the army. It was during this period that Descartes developed close relationship with Isaac Beeckman which kind of intensified the interest of Descartes in the subject of science. It is also argued that the relationship between the two was more than just a relationship of the teacher and student and Beeckman served as the mentor to provide him the necessary intellectual stimulus to consider the science and philosophy as the important fields of knowledge to peruse. Descartes left army in 1619 and it was after this period that he started to consider writing on the subject of philosophy and other sciences on a very serious note. His early works include Discourse on Method which outlines his own style and orientation towards the field of philosophy. Over the period of time, he seems to work on different drafts of the various writings which he either abandoned writing or delayed the publication of them. It was also during this era that Galileo was condemned by the Church and fearing to meet the same fate, he decided not to publish his work which subsequently published with the name The World. In The World, he actually combined his earlier work on the optics and meteorology and further extended the work to discuss extensively on the field of Physics. It was also during this period that his status as a serious philosopher started to emerge and his work found its way to the elite class of Paris. It was also during this period that he started to teach the nobles for his ideas on the Physics. His contribution to Philosophy Descartes is regarded as the father of modern philosophy not because of his overall contribution to the field but the issues and problems he raised which are still being resolved and perused by the academics of the current time. His work on the mind body connection is considered as one of the basic treatise on the subject and believed to have raised some important and fundamental questions on the overall nature and existence of the mind and its connection with the body. His meditation on the first philosophy radically brought a significant change in the way Philosophy as a subject was approached historically. Before this, philosophy was based on the ontological principles of knowing what is real however, Descartes introduced the concept of epistemology as the valid and the most important step towards understanding the knowledge and the real. (Gaukroger, 2006) He belonged to what is called the rationalist school of thought in philosophy which radically altered the view about the world. Rationalists believe that the reason is the only source of getting the knowledge as against the earlier view that the knowledge can only be achieved through experience. This radical shift in the way the overall nature of knowledge was perused therefore provided a completely new challenge of understanding the knowledge. The question of how to have the knowledge through perception of the external objects therefore is still considered as a significant challenge to the current day philosophers also in terms of its relevance towards studying the relationship between knowledge and the perception. Descartes and Psychology As discussed above that Descartes belonged to the rationalist school of thought believing that a priori consideration is the foundation of the human knowledge. It therefore suggested that a conscious and consistent thought process through reason can ultimately lead one to the truth. His view about the world therefore based on the mathematical view of the world where radical doubt was the key to understanding the knowledge and truth. He was also the first philosopher who actually attempted to develop the unique theory of considering the mind and body as two different entities. This view therefore is still considered as in compliance with the common sense as well as follow directly from what the major religions have been preaching. The emergence of philosophy happened directly from the views held by the empiricists who maintained that the mind and body are not actually two different realities. They believed that mind and body actually influence and interact with each other and that the mind can be studied by studying the body. Empiricists also hold that the mind is actually shaped what is experienced directly by the body therefore they actually attempted to define the superiority of body over the mind and how it can actually shape our mind. The notion that the mind can ultimately be affected by the bodily experiences however was radically different from what was generally believed and preached by Descartes. (Balz, 1952) In order to fully understand the contribution of Descartes towards the field of Psychology, it is important to understand and start with his contribution towards perfecting the overall process of exploring the reality. He developed the core methods which can be scientifically applied to validate any experiment and therefore determine the truth. He was also instrumental in design and development of what is now called the inductive as well as deductive methods of reasoning. It is from this contribution that the psychology took its roots for performing the scientific methods to perform the different experiments and determine the truth. (Fancher, 1979) To begin with, his discovery of the Cartesian coordinates itself is considered as one of the significant contributions to the field of psychology because in absence of this, the measurement of the relationship between the different variables, finding the correlation between them as well as the performance of tests of significance would probably have not been possible. The field of experimental psychology therefore borrows much from this contribution and it is based on this that the relationship between the different variables such as mind and body could scientifically be explored. It is also worthy to note that the Descartes dissatisfaction with the methods of enquiry led him to the development of his own methods of systematic reasoning. He developed a unique method of enquiry and probing based on which he can identify and define the truth. The first step of this method was the process of doubting everything until and unless it is not proved by the scientific method. He also further went on to suggest that in order to remove that doubt and further probe the problem, it is important to break down the problem into simplest parts and than carry on the process of examining each of them and progress from simplest to complex ideas of the problem. This process was significant to the field of psychology because it allowed the development of the deductive as well as inductive reasoning and provided an important tool to further understand as to how the mind actually reason and probe different aspects of reality. This also therefore further led to the possibility that if the scientific method can be accurately and precisely applied to any problem can actually lead to the correct results. Perhaps his most important contribution towards the future of the field of psychology was his assertion that the mind and body are two different things. Before this, it was generally perceived that the soul is of paramount importance which thinks and governs the body. He however, made a powerful assertion that it is the mind which actually has the power to think, reason as well as emotions. This aspect of mind, according to Descartes, was completely separate from the rest of the functioning of the body and therefore offered a unique perspective about how the mind and body are actually related with each other. (Kirkeben, 2001). Descartes however, also argued that though mind and body are two different realities however they can interact with each other. He went on to suggest that body is essential for the physical aspects of the self whereas the mind is necessary for the thinking aspect of the self. This idea therefore provided a unique link between the mind and body and how they can influence and interact with each other. He also seems to wrestle with the idea of how one affect the other and how the actual interaction between the mind and the body actually takes place. It is through this interaction between the mind and the body that the different behaviors and reactions can actually arise. These basic concepts therefore allowed the later development of fields like physiology psychology as well as cognitive and perceptual psychology. The work of Descartes also led to the further study of how the brain actually functions and how the image is created when the rays are passed through eyes. Though his overall arguments were subsequently proved as wrong however, he developed the foundation for the future work. The overall development of the field of physiological psychology as well as cognitive psychology therefore borrows much from the overall arguments presented by Descartes. It is also important to note that Descartes method was however narrow and only limited the perusal of truth to the use of scientific method. It therefore completely excluded the role of the sensory perceptions and actual experience in understanding the truth and knowledge. He seem to completely left out the notion of how the senses actually perceive and what they perceive and therefore failed to provide a comprehensive answer to the role of senses and perception in understanding the mind-body connection. Conclusion Rene Descartes is considered as the father of modern philosophy because of his contribution towards the development of ideas on which modern philosophy is based. Born in France, he was known for his contribution to the field of mathematics and physics and especially for his contribution towards the development of analytical geometry. Analytical geometry actually allowed the use of geometry to solve the algebraic problems and therefore greatly facilitated towards the solution of different complex problems. The so called Cartesian products are known after his name because Descartes discovered them. Descartes however, is also known for setting up some of the fundamental arguments on which the future of psychology was built. His use of scientific method as the only source of discovering truth allowed the field of Psychology to employ scientific method to find out the exact relationship between the different variables besides using it for performing hypothesis testing. His most important contribution to the field of psychology however comes from his work on the issue of the separation of mind and body. It was he who actually proclaimed that the mind does the actual thinking as against the earlier accepted thought that it is the soul which does the same. His work therefore led to the development of the physiology psychology and cognitive psychology thus further opening up the doors for founding the scientific basis for psychology. Bibliography Balz, A. G. (1952). Descartes and the Modern Mind. New Heaven: Yale University Press. Fancher, R. E. (1979). Pioneers of Psychology. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. G., K. (2001). Descartes Embodied Psychology: Descartes or Damasios Error. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences , 10 (2), 173-191. Gaukroger, S. (2006). The Blackwell Guide to Descartes' Meditations. Oxford: Blackwell. Grene, M. G. (1998). Descartes. New York: Hackett Publishing. Turner, M. B. (1965). Philosophy and the Science of Behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Read More