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It is not enough to have a good mind.
The
main thing is to use it well.
If you would be a real seeker after truth,
it is necessary
that at least once in your life you doubt,
as far as possible, all
things.
"The
rational, analytical,
objective worldview implicit in
the discrete
Cartesian self, separate and distinct from all other selves and their
environment, is a necessary and proper phase of human development. It is a
phase, however, that sets the stage for
a further
phase, one that we typically no longer experience. We remain therefore
stuck in a perpetual adolescence, waiting our whole lives for some momentous
happening that never happens. That our development remains arrested in the
analytic ego phase is necessary for the
continuation of society as we know it, for the perpetuation of
the World Under Control." -
Charles
Eisenstein
The
method for the
discovery of truth
is
analytic and consists of four rules:Accept nothing as true except what can be clearly
perceived to be so and accept
nothing as true unless one has
no occasion to doubt it.
Divide up each problem into as many parts
as possible and resolve each in the best manner possible.
Carry on
reflections in due order; beginning with
the most simple and proceed little by little, or by degrees, to
knowledge of the most complex.
Make enumerations so complete and reviews so general that one can be
certain of omitting nothing.
Common sense is, of all things
among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so
abundantly provided with it, that those even who are the most difficult to
satisfy in everything else,
do not usually desire a
larger measure of this quality than they already possess.
It is not
likely that all are mistaken the
conviction it is rather to be held as testifying that
the power of judging aright and of
distinguishing truth from error,
which is properly what is called common sense or
reason, is by nature equal in all men; and that the diversity of our
opinions, consequently, does not arise from some being endowed with a larger
share of reason than others, but solely from this, that we conduct our thoughts
along different ways, and do not fix
our attention on the same objects.
For to be possessed of a vigorous
mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.
He
truly engages in battle who endeavors to surmount all the difficulties and
errors which prevent him from reaching the knowledge of truth.
I,
Rene Descartes, hold in esteem the
studies of the schools. I was aware that the languages taught in
them are necessary to the understanding of the writings of the ancients; that
the grace of narrative stirs
the mind; that the memorable deeds of
history elevate it; and, if read
with discretion, aid in forming the judgement; that the perusal of
all excellent books is to interview
with the noblest men of past ages and in which are
discovered only their
highest thoughts; that eloquence has incomparable force and beauty; that
poetry has its ravishing graces and
delights; that in the mathematics
there are many refined discoveries eminently suited to
gratify the inquisitive, as well as further all the arts an lessen the labor of
man; that numerous highly useful precepts and exhortations to
virtue are contained in treatises on morals;
that theology points out the path to
heaven; that philosophy affords the
means of discoursing with an appearance of truth on all matters, and
commands the admiration of the
simple; that jurisprudence, medicine, and the other sciences,
secure for their cultivators
honors and bestow some attention upon all, even upon those abounding the
most in superstition and
error, that we may be in a position to
determine their real value, and guard against
being deceived.
I, Rene Descartes, am not at all astonished at
the extravagances attributed to
those ancient philosophers whose own writings we do not possess; whose
thoughts, however, I do not on that account suppose to have been really
absurd, seeing they were among the ablest
men of their times, but only that these have been falsely represented to us.
I am quite sure that the most devoted of
the present followers of
Aristotle would think
themselves happy if they had as much knowledge of nature as he
possessed.
I, Rene Descartes, never accepted anything for true which I
did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid
precipitancy and prejudice, and to
comprise nothing more in my judgement than
what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all
doubt.
I
divide each of the difficulties
under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for
its adequate solution. I resolved to conduct my
thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and
easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were,
step by step, to the knowledge of
the more complex; in accustoming my mind
to the compassion and nourishment of
truth, and to a distaste for all such reasoning as were false.
The long
chains of simple and easy reasoning by means of which geometers are accustomed
to reach the conclusions of their most difficult demonstrations, had led me to
envision that all things, to the knowledge of which man is competent, are
mutually connected in the same way, and that there is nothing so far removed
from us as to be beyond our reach, or so hidden that we cannot
discover it, provided only
we abstain from accepting the false for the true, and always preserve in our
thoughts the order necessary for the deduction of one truth from another.
Each truth discovered was a rule available
in the discovery of
subsequent ones.
Expediency
seemed to dictate that I should regulate my practice
conformably to the opinions of those with
whom I should have to live; and it
appeared to me that, in order to ascertain the real opinions of such, I ought
rather to take cognizance of what they
practiced rather than of what they said, not only because, in the
corruption of our manners, there are few disposed to
speak exactly as they believe,
but also because very many are not aware of what it is that they
really believe; for, as the act of mind by
which a thing is believed is different from that by which we know that we
believe it, the one act is often found without the other.
When it is not
in our power to determine what is true, we
ought to act according to what is most probable.
I, Rene Descartes, have always endeavored to conquer myself
rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the Earth,
and in general, accustom myself to the
persuasion
that, except our own thoughts,
there is nothing absolutely in our power.
If we consider all
real objects as equally beyond our
power, we shall no more regret the absence of such
real objects as appear due at
birth, when deprived of them without any fault of our own.
I may state that
it was my conviction that I
could not do better than continue in that in which I was engaged, viz., in
devoting my whole life to the culture of my reason, and in making the greatest progress I
was able in the knowledge of truth.
I, Rene Descartes,
attentively examined what I was.
I observed that I could envision that I had no body, and that there was
no Earth nor any place in which I might be, but I could not envision that I was
not; for I still was and that, on the contrary, from the very
circumstance that I
thought to doubt the truth of other things, it most clearly and
certainly followed that I was; while, on the other hand, if I had only ceased to think, although all
the other objects which I had ever envisioned had been in reality existent, I
would have had no reason to believe that I existed.
I, Rene Descartes, thence
concluded that I was a substance whose whole essence or nature consists only in thinking, and which,
that it may exist, has no need of place, nor is dependent on anything real.
I, that is to say, the
mind by which
I am what I am,
is wholly distinct from the body, and is even more easily known than the body,
and is such, that although the body were not, it would still continue to be all
that it is.
I think, therefore
I am.
Although I, Rene
Descartes, might think that I was dreaming,
and that all which I saw or imagined was false, I could not, nevertheless, deny
that the ideas were in reality in my thoughts.
I was disposed
straightway to search for other truths.
I, Rene Descartes,
perceived that there was nothing at
all in these demonstrations which could assure me of the existence of their
object: thus, for example, supposing a triangle to be given, I distinctly
perceived that its three angles
were necessarily equal to two right angles, but I did not on that account
perceive anything which could
assure me that any triangle existed.
The reason which leads many to persuade theirselves that there is a
difficulty in knowing this truth, and even
also in knowing what their mind really is,
is that they never raise their thoughts above
real objects, and are so accustomed
to consider nothing except by way of imagination, which is a mode of thinking
limited to real objects, that all
that is not imaginable appears to them
not intelligible.
The truth
of this is sufficiently manifest from the single
circumstance, that
the philosophers of the schools
accept as a maxim that there is nothing in the understanding which was not
previously in the senses, in which however it is certain that the ideas of
God and of the soul have never
been; and it appears to me that they who make use of their
imagination to
comprehend these ideas do
exactly the same thing as if, in order to hear sounds or
smell odors, they strove to avail
themselves of their eyes; unless indeed that there is this difference, that the
sense of sight does not afford us an inferior assurance to those of smell or
hearing; in place of which, neither
our imagination nor our senses can give
us assurance of anything unless our understanding intervene.
God is or
exists because all that we possess is derived from God.
Whence it
follows that our ideas or notions, which to the extent of their
clearness
and distinctness are real, and proceed from God, must to that extent be true.
Whereas we not infrequently have ideas or notions
in which some falsity is contained,
this can only be the case when we
proceed from lack of knowledge.
After the knowledge of God
and of the soul has rendered us
certain,
we can easily understand that the truth of reason we experience
when awake,
ought not in
the slightest degree to be called in question on account of the
illusions of our dreams.
we know
that the thoughts which occur in dreaming occur within a false reality.
Whether
awake or asleep, we ought never
to allow ourselves to be persuaded of the truth of anything unless on the
evidence of our reason.
It must be noted that I, Rene Descartes, say of
our reason, and not of our imagination.
It is not a dictate of reason that what we thus see or
imagine is in reality existent.
I have also observed certain laws established in
nature by God, that after we have
reflected sufficiently upon these, we can not
doubt that they are accurately
observed in all that exists or takes place on the Earth and farther, by
considering the concatenation of these laws, it appears to me that I have
discovered many truths more
useful and more important than all I had before
learned, or even had expected to
learn.
If God were now to create
somewhere in the imaginary
spaces matter sufficient to compose a universe
and were to agitate variously and confusedly the different parts of this
matter, so that there resulted a chaos as disordered as the poets
ever feigned, and after that did nothing more than lend ordinary concurrence to
nature, and allow nature to act in accordance with the
laws of nature which God had
established, the result, by necessity, would be as our reality is.
I, Rene Descartes, have pointed out what are the
laws of nature; and, with no other
principle upon which to found my
reasoning except the infinite
perfection of God, I endeavored to demonstrate all those about which there
could be any room for doubt, and
to prove that they are such, that even if God had created more worlds, there
could have been none in which these laws were not observed.
An opinion
commonly received among theologians, that
the action by which God now
sustains the universe is the same with that by which he originally created
it; so that even although God had from the beginning given it no other
form than that of
chaos, provided only God had
established certain laws of nature, and
had lent it concurrence to enable it to act as it is wont to do, it may be
believed, without discredit to the miracle of creation, that, in this way
alone, things purely material might, in course of time, have become such as we
observe them at present; and their nature is much more easily envisioned when
they are beheld coming in this manner gradually into existence, than when they
are only considered as produced at once in a finished and perfect
state.
I, Rene Descartes,
perceived it to be possible to
arrive at knowledge highly useful in life; so
natural to our
minds that no one can so much as
imagine himself ignorant of it; and in light of the speculative philosophy
usually taught in the schools, to
discover a practical means
by which to know the force and action of fire, water, air, the stars, the
heavens, and all the other bodies that
surround us, as distinctly as we know the various crafts of our artisans, we might also apply them in the same way
to all the uses to which they are adapted, and thus render ourselves the lords
and possessors of nature.
And this is a result to be desired, not only
in order to the invention of an infinity of arts, by which we
might be enabled to enjoy without any trouble the fruits of the Earth, and all
its comforts, but also and especially for the preservation of health, which is
without doubt, of all the blessings of this life, the first and
fundamental one.
I examined what were the first and most ordinary effects
that could be deduced from these causes; and it appears to me that, in this
way, I have found knowledge of the heavens,
the stars, and on Earth knowledge of water, air, fire, minerals, and other things which of
all others are the most common and simple, and hence the easiest to
know.
I, Rene Descartes, have essayed to find general principles,
deducing them from certain germs of truths naturally existing in our
minds. It is necessary also to
confess that the power of nature is so ample and vast, and these principles so
simple and general, that I have hardly observed a single particular effect
which I cannot at once recognize as capable of being deduced by
mankind.
Thereupon, turning over in my mind, the
real objects that had ever been
presented to my senses I freely venture to state that I have never observed any
which I could not satisfactorily explain by the
laws of nature.
I, Rene Descartes, am confident that there is no one,
even among those whose profession it is, who does not admit that all that is
presently known is almost nothing in comparison of what remains to be
discovered.
I incite men of superior genius to strive to proceed
farther, by contributing, each according to his inclination and ability, to the
necessary experiments, and
also by informing the public of all they might
discover, so that, by the
last beginning where those before them had
left off, and thus connecting the lives and
labors of many, we might collectively proceed much farther than each by himself
could do.
I, Rene Descartes, am now in a position to
discern, as I think, with sufficient
clearness what course must be taken to make the
majority of those
experiments which may conduce
to this end: but I perceive
likewise that they are such and so numerous, that neither my
hands nor my income, though it were a thousand times larger
than it is, would be sufficient for them all; so that according as henceforward
I shall have the means of making more or fewer
experiments, I shall in the
same proportion make greater or less progress in the knowledge of nature.
I had hoped to make known the treatise I had
written, and so clearly to exhibit the advantage that would thence accrue to
mankind, as to induce all who have the common good of man at
heart, that is, all who are
virtuous in truth, and not merely in
appearance, or according to opinion, as well to
communicate to me the
experiments they had already
made, as to assist me in those that remain to be made.
I neither have so high an opinion of myself as to be willing to make
promise of anything extraordinary, nor feed
on imaginations so vain as to
fancy that the public must be much
interested in my designs.
If I, Rene
Descartes, were to publish the principles of my philosophy: for although they
are almost all so evident that to assent to them no more is needed than simply
to understand them, and although there is not one of them of which I do not
expect to be able to give demonstration, yet, as it is
impossible that they can be
in accordance with all the diverse opinions
of others, I foresee that I should frequently be turned aside from my
grand design, on occasion of the
opposition which they would be sure
to awaken.
I may say that such individuals have an interest in my
refraining from publishing the principles of the my philosophy; for, since
these are of a category the
simplest and most evident, I should, by publishing them, do much the same as if
I were to throw open the windows, and allow the light of day to enter.
I, Rene Descartes,
resolved by no means to consent to their publication during my lifetime, lest
either the oppositions or the
controversies to which they might give rise, or even the reputation, such as it
might be, which they would acquire for me, should be any occasion of my
losing the time that I had set apart for
my own inquiries and life.
For though it be true that every one is
bound to promote to the extent of his ability the good of others, and that to
be useful to no one is really to be worthless, yet it is likewise true that our
cares ought to extend beyond the present, and it is good to omit doing what
might perhaps bring some profit to the living, when we have in view the
accomplishment of other ends that will be of much greater advantage to those
yet to be born.
Even superior men have no reason for any great
anxiety to know these
laws of nature, for if what they desire
is to be able to speak of all
things, and to acquire a reputation for learning, they will gain their end more
easily by remaining satisfied with the appearance of truth, which can be found
without much difficulty in all sorts of matters, than by seeking the truth
itself which unfolds itself but slowly and obliges us to freely confess our
ignorance.
I, Rene
Descartes, do not wish to forestall the judgements of others by
speaking myself of my writings;
but it will gratify me if they be examined, and, to afford the greater
inducement to this I request all who may have any
objections to make them.
I have resolved to devote what time I may
still have to live to no other
endeavor other than acquiring some
knowledge of laws of nature, the reality
of the cause is established by the reality of the effect.
Rene Descartes
It is likely that Rene Descartes died of
arsenic
poisioning while tutoring Queen Cristina of
Sweden.
Enlightenment comes from brief
insights into the nature of
things. Although such insights are
rare and difficult to sustain they allow us to understand the basis of our
desires and grant us the virtue to control those desires.
Those who
have mastery over their desires will have a healthy regard of others as they
see them as equally capable of a virtuous
will. Those who possess this knowledge of themselves readily come to
believe that any other individual can have the same knowledge about themselves
because this knowledge involves nothing which depends on anything outside of
the self.
Those who have mastery over their desires are
self-assured and confident and
have mastery over their fear and
anger. Contentment through virtue is attained by
acceptance of the reality that the only things we actually control are the only
things that we should concern ourselves with.
"The
Scientific Method relies for
its supra-cultural validity on principles that are themselves among its own
assumptions. The logic of its
justification is circular.
A parallel would be an aborigine insisting,
"Okay, let's settle this question of whether scientific experiment or dreaming
is the way to true knowledge
once and for all . . . Let's settle it by entering the
dreamtime and asking the ancestors."
It is hard to imagine, but the principal assumptions of
objectivity and determinism that
lie at the foundation of the Scientific Method are by no means
shared by all the world's traditions of thought. A non-objective, non-deterministic, yet coherent
system of thought is possible.
It is more than possible: it is
necessary given the impending collapse of the world of the discrete and
separate self that we have wrought. It is also necessary in light of the new
scientific revolution of the last hundred years. Our ways of thinking and being
are not working anymore." - Charles Eisenstein |
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buildings and in which each and every individual is encouraged to develop a
personal relation with the Creator and Sustainer through the pursuit of the
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and is responsible for the collapse of morals, the elevation of self-centered
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American
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population has been directed toward solutions proposed by the corrupt
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