My plan has never gone beyond trying to reform my own thoughts and building upon a foundation which is completely my own. And if, my work having pleased me sufficiently, I here show you a model of it, it is not for the reason that I would wish to advise anyone to imitate it (p. 9)
Before I comment on this excerpt, I want to agree with Brennan that perhaps our discussion should begin discussing the reliabilty of the first premise of Descartes' Method: to only accept things one can "clearly and distinctly" perceive.
As for the excerpt, I believe Descartes is being coy. For whatever reason - concealing discordance with the church or practicing the rhetorical device of humility - Descartes lies when he says he does not want anyone to imitate his model. The prerequisites (basically saying that, "if you're stupid then this is not for you") for using his method and the publication of the Discourse imply that Descartes wants to share his method to assert its influence on people's way of thinking.
Having said this, I believe premises such as the Method's first maxim and the cogito are meant to be more objective than subjective. And perhaps they are. In response to John's claim that the cogito is extremely subjective, I believe it is extremely objective. For if one were to be Baconian and conduct a survey, all participants would likely agree they were capable of independent thought. The cogito could be a proof of existence based on objective data rather than "clear and distinct perception." Or maybe I just have a "clear and distinct perception" that this is so. Ha....
No comments:
Post a Comment