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Philosophy. Science. Nonfiction. HTML: One of the most influential books ever written, Descartes' Discourse on the Method delves into some of the most basic and profound philosophical problems facing humanity. Follow this great mind through the logical processes that ultimately led him to conclude, "I think, therefore I am"�and to change Western philosophy forever in the process..

User reviews

LibraryThing member jpsnow

This work contains his famous "cogito, ergo sum" after which he seems to leap to other conclusions, including God, that do not necessarily follow. He lived for 8 productive years in wartime Holland, where he was able to isolate himself by moving frequently. He did not publish some of his works,

having seen the effect for Galileo of publishing great discoveries. This may also have influenced some of his proofs of God: causality implies that something created all of this and I have imperfections; hence there must be something greater than me. He also advocated the power of one master workman in science as in other crafts, and perhaps saw himself as destined to make all of the discoveries along the paths he was pursuing. He observed that what led to knowledge was not so much good sense as pursuit of it through mental effort. He observed that, while giving his mind somewhat of a grounding, formal schooling served mostly to disclose his ignorance and that of those around him. His philosophical method includes regarding as false anything only probable and yet he notes that learned philosophers have debated for years without finding truth in the same matters. Amidst all of this, he is also able to make such practical observations as one regarding fashion: that what pleased people 10 years ago will again please them 10 years hence, and yet be ridiculous today.

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LibraryThing member mjklin

Interesting first part where he "debunks" the previous history of philosophy; but what was all that stuff about the motion of the blood and heart towards the end?

LibraryThing member chriszodrow

This book marks the shift in philosophical speculation, from the Nature-Grace ethos of the Medieval age to that of Nature-Freedom of the Enlightenment. Descartes essentially put an X through the then standing assumptions regarding knowledge. Agree or disagree, this book defines much of Western

thought to this day.

This is an important book. Funny, most of the really powerful and long-lasting ideas have been in brief books like this one.

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LibraryThing member SkjaldOfBorea

Together with Bacon's New Organon, this small, lucid book is the methodological foundation of the entire scientific revolution - the "birth" of modern science during the 17th century - & perhaps even of technology as such. The celebrated & hypnotic mantra "nous rendre comme maîtres & possesseurs

de la nature" - to acquire command of all nature by the radically cautious & methodical acquisition of knowledge that Descartes outlines - became a programme, a prize, an obsession, & decided, for good & evil, the size & shape of our universe.

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LibraryThing member Aimapotis

Absolutely fundamental to understand Descartes philosophy

LibraryThing member jculkin

Like a warm bath for the mind, and takes about as long - parts 1-4 at least. Reading it in English, I wonder if he is so straightforward and readable in French. Parts 1-4 are eloquent and minimal, and certainly worth re-reading - meditations of reason. Part 5, home to the famous 'cogito ergo sum'

line, is pretty tedious after the first page and that very quote. Just skip part 6. The introduction - despite being longer than the actual text - is worth reading. It sets the scene and gives the historical context. Interesting to note that it was originally published in French, so perhaps the line we know him by should rather be 'je pense donc je suis'. If it had ended on that line, I would rate it 5.

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LibraryThing member rubyman

Even though he purports to sweep the slate clean and start from scratch it doesn't feel like it. He starts with "I think therefore i am" and i am quite content with that but then out of nowhere he produces perfection, imperfection, dependency, composition and other concepts which without first

analysing and defining he uses to construct God and other things. That really baffled me for it didn't feel at all like a rigorous approach. Though when i think about it it doesn't seem possible to define things without having some things already defined so the whole clean slate approach is not possible in the absolute. He had to start somewhere, with some precepts but i just don't like the precepts he chose for start. Too much was presupposed for my liking.
Still the book was delightful especially for the glimpses into Rene's life and his struggles around philosophising and publication.

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