A Discourse on the Method (Oxford World's Classics)
by Rene Descartes
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rene DescartesTranslator: Ian Maclean
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-02-16
ISBN: 0192825143
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of A Discourse on the Method (Oxford World's Classics)
Book Review: Cogito Cogito ergo Cogito Sum
Summary: 5 Stars
Ambrose Bierce said that the title of this review is as close to certainty as any philosopher can get. Descartes, of course, thought he got a lot closer than that. Two things are certain about this edition of his "Discourse." 1. They got the title right. Most editions call it "Discourse on Method." Descartes thought he had the only method, therefore he titled his work "Discourse on THE Method." 2. A tremendous amount of scholarship was devoted to this edition. The introduction is longer than the text, and the work is heavily annotated.
Descartes' work consists of six parts, which can be summarized thus:
Part 1: Descartes echoes the opening chapters of Ecclesiastes in lamenting that learning and worldly experience are empty. He then says that when he achieved this realization, he devoted himself to introspection.
Part 2: He outlines his method of introspection as follows: 1. Accept nothing that is not incontrovertible. 2. Break large problems down into their component parts. 3. Solve the easier components before tackling the more complex components. 4. Be careful to be thorough in your assessment of the problem.
Part 3: He outlines his plan for a life of virtue: 1. Obey the laws of God and man, but do so in moderation. 2. Be firm and resolute in your actions, whether right or wrong. He would have approved of my high school football coach, who taught us, "If you're going to make a mistake, make it at full speed." 3. Master yourself, not your circumstances. 4. Pursue the best of occupations. Descartes decided that the best of occupations was that of the curious idler. He formulated these maxims at age 23 and spent the next 9 years idling curiously and introspecting.
Part 4: The core of the work. Here Descartes begins by rejecting as untrue everything that he has ever been taught. Assuming that as a given, what can he know for a fact? "I think, therefore I am." From this dictum he deduces the the existence and immortality of the human soul, the existence and nature of God, and the nature of reality. His proof of God's existence reminds one of St. Anselm's ontological proof of God.
Parts 5 & 6: The weakest part of the work. Here Descartes describes a book he wrote in which he solved all the problems of the universe. He then explains that he decided not to publish it because somebody might find mistakes in it. If his description of how the heart works is any indication of the accuracy of the rest of his book, he was quite correct that mistakes would be found by others. He then talks about other books he actually published more or less at the same time as this work.
Parts 1-3 seem somewhat trite and arrogant. Parts 5 & 6 reveal a man whose ego cannot stand being shown to be wrong. Part 4 is brilliant and worth the tedium of the rest of the book.
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