Descartes’ Philosophy
This article will discuss Descartes’s mechanistic physics and his ontological argument. In addition, I will discuss his rejection of the idea of “substantial forms.”
Descartes’ argument for the existence of God
Descartes’ argument for the existence of a God is based on two basic premises. First, there is formal reality, or what exists simply by being. There are three grades of formal reality, infinite, finite, and modal. God has infinite formal reality, and all other existing things have finite or modal formal reality. Ideas and modes of the mind are also modal realities. In this sense, ideas and thoughts are modes of the mind, and they are also formal realities.
As a philosopher, Descartes’ ontological argument for the existence of God is both interesting and challenging. Although his argument is poorly understood by modern scholars, it attempts to prove the existence of God from simple premises. The concept of existence, which is derived from an idea of a perfect being, is essential to the argument. The argument has undergone several misreadings and has been formulated in many ways.
In his third meditation, Descartes introduced two separate proofs for the existence of God. The ontological proof is in the fifth meditation, while the causal proof appears in the third. Descartes believed that by presenting both types of proofs, he could strengthen the argument even further. In addition, the Mediations are well-written, and include many examples and analogies to mathematics and algebra. Therefore, they are the most important part of Descartes’ argument for the existence of God.
Descartes’ argument for the existence of a God is based on the idea that existence in essence means that God exists. This implication suggests that existence must be inherent to the supremely perfect being. In other words, existence is inherent in the existence of the supreme being. In other words, the existence of God is inherent in the essence of God. However, this claim is a bit more complicated to defend, and there are many more important points to consider.
His mechanistic physics
Descartes’ mechanistic physics, or the theory that all matter is mechanical, has long fascinated philosophers and theorists. He cited cases of deception, jaundice, and the shrinking of stars and distant bodies. But his views on extension, shape, and motion seem contradictory and incompatible with his first philosophical philosophy, Meditations. To understand the underlying contradiction, it is necessary to look at his writings from several angles.
Descartes accepted the principle of divine concurrence but never explained it beyond appeal to conservation. Divine concurrence requires the existence of secondary causes, which is impossible in Descartes’ world of extended things. In his view, all changes result from motion wrought by God’s eternal recreation. Thus, no secondary cause exists. The resulting theory argues that finite objects have no causal power. Descartes’ mechanistic physics is a critical study of the first three philosophies.
During the eighteenth century, Descartes’ mechanistic physics received heavy criticism from Isaac Newton. In fact, Newton’s mechanistic physics evolved in response to many scientists, including those at the Academy of Sciences in Paris. Moreover, the discussions between Newtonians and Cartesians did not end in the 1740s. They continued for over half a century, highlighting how both philosophers had a different approach to physics.
Despite its many flaws, the mechanistic physics of Descartes has been a major influence in the history of science. Its main objective is to explain how the mind/body composite works. It explains how the primitive notions of mind and body are related to each other, and how they are joined. It has been said that mind is most closely related to the body, but the two are not the same.
His mechanistic ontological argument
A basic question in Descartes’ mechanistic ontological arguments is “Can human beings discover fundamental truths?” To answer this question, Descartes’ mechanistic ontological theory is important. Descartes thought that the schools of his day taught flawed philosophy, and that scholastic Aristotelian philosophy contained a basic error about how to obtain fundamental truths. His mechanistic ontological argument is a major contribution to the history of science and philosophy.
For Descartes’ ontological argument, God cannot exist without necessity, which is inextricably linked to the concept of necessity. Moreover, this notion of necessity does not exclude God. This explains why Descartes’ mechanistic argument is so powerful. But its logical fallacy is still based in ordinary reasoning practices. Therefore, the ontological argument is not enough to disprove God’s existence.
For Descartes, “real qualities” cannot be discovered by using the traditional scientific method. Rather, they are a collection of properties possessed by the objects that we observe. Descartes argued that light, for instance, is the property of particles that change their rotation about an axis. And light’s color changes with the degree of spin of each particle. It is this change in spin that causes nerves to jiggle.
Despite this problem, Descartes’ mechanistic ontological theory has many other problems, including the ambiguity of the concept of “perception.” He claimed that all human beings are free, but their freedom of will is limited by their finite intellects. Without clear perception of the true and good, human beings can make errors of judgment in situations that are not entirely rational. In other words, the mechanistic ontological argument is based on the assumption that all humans will be able to perceive their own limits of perception.
His rejection of substantial forms
Hattab explores the internal dynamics leading to the decline of Aristotelian explanations of the world and its substantial forms. He shows that early Descartes was a committed mechanical philosopher who wanted to keep material substantial forms at the level of physics and amenable to mathematization. But his objective was to persuade others to adopt geometric explanations. Hattab provides an in-depth analysis of the various contexts in which Descartes rejected the concept of substantial forms.
The issue of causality and the status of accidents in the generation of substantial forms is a thorny one. Descartes rejected Aquinas’s position by isolating the role of accidents as efficient causes. This was not an easy task and required a thorough analysis of the doctrine. But it was necessary to understand that a priori elimination of forms has no definitive basis in philosophy.
While arguing for the unity of body and mind, Descartes took a different line of argument. He argued that the two are one, but only in a real and substantial manner. Then he rejected Henricus Regius’s argument that the mind and body are united “per accidens.”
The standard hylomorphism interpretation claims that the transmission of a substantial form creates a new substance of the same species. However, the argument does not hold when the substantial form of the generator is not sufficient for the new substance. Thus, a new substance may arise without a substantial form at all. The role of substantial forms in the process of creation is disputed in medieval debates.
His mind-body problem
Descartes’ mind-body problem is the dispute over whether the human mind and the body are completely separate. Descartes asserts that if the mind and body are separate, there is no causal interaction. The reason for this is that Descartes cannot imagine a body without its parts. Otherwise, the mind and body would have the same nature. This is not an accurate account of the nature of consciousness. Despite Descartes’ apparent confusion, he has a legitimate point of view.
The mind-body problem is a philosophical debate that has lasted since the 1600s. Descartes argues that the mind is an independent entity from the body. While the body is a physical entity that can be proven by our senses, his theory claims that the mind is a metaphysical entity separate from the body. Descartes’ approach to the mind-body problem involves three main points. First, the mind is a mental substance that performs the functions of thought and maintaining consciousness. The body is a material substance that enables us to do those things. Second, a human being is composed of both a mind and body.
Descartes’ response to Elisabeth’s question opens up further philosophical questions. Although Descartes does not reject the notion of causality, he makes appeal to the Scholastic concept of heaviness, and implies that mind and body are two separate entities. Similarly, he jumps between the view that the mind acts on the body and the view that the body affects the mind.
