Descartes and the Triumphs of the Mechanical Universe

1. Descartes Triumphs Nature is Subdued

2. The Legacy of Descartes The French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descarteschallenged old ways of thinking about science. Descartes, for whom the Cartesian system of philosophy is named, argued that doubt and reason are both necessary for determining truth, and that the world and everything in it operates according to mechanical principles. (The World is a Machine; Man is Separate from Nature and therefore is not a Machine)

3. What is Descartes Stating Here? If I found any new truths in the sciences, I can say that they follow from, or depend on, five or six principal problems which I succeeded in solving and which I regard as so many battles where the fortunes of war were on my side. If we possessed a thorough knowledge of all the parts of the seed of any animal (e.g. man), we could from that alone, by reasons entirely mathematical and certain, deduce the whole conformation and figure of each of its members, and, conversely if we knew several peculiarities of this conformation, we would from those deduce the nature of its seed. By a method I mean certain and simple rules such that, if a man observe them accurately, he shall never assume what is false is true.

4. The Skeptical Hypothesis • The Senses Deceive us at a distance (i.e. Telescopes and other instruments)- God does not Deceive; God is always good - therefore we need an Evil Genius to properly deceive • The Dream Hypothesis - we have no means of conclusively determining - at any moment, whether or not we are dreaming - no way to independently separate out reality from the observer/experiencer • The Evil Genius hypothesis -an arbitrary Evil Genius exists to screw with us (deception)

5. The Method of Reduction Tenets • 1. never to accept anything as true when I did not recognize it clearly to be so, that is to say, to carefully avoid precipitation and prejudice, and to include in my opinions nothing beyond that which should present itself so clearly and so distinctly to my mind that I might have no occasion to doubt it. • 2. The second was, to divide each of the difficulties which I should examine into as many parts as were possible, and as should be required for its better solution.

6. The Method of Reduction Tenets • 3. to conduct my thoughts in order, by beginning with the simplest objects, and those most easy to know, so as to mount little by little, as if by steps, to the most complex knowledge, and even assuming an order among those which do not naturally precede one another. • And the last was, to make everywhere enumerations so complete, and reviews so wide, that I should be sure of omitting nothing. . .(Thucydides, Galileo, Kepler)

7. The Clockwork Universe matter (is) made up of atoms, colors occur by the reflection of light waves of differing lengths, bodies obey the law of inertia, and the sun is the center of our solar system

8. Descartes “Swerve” Inside God’s Magic Box, strict rules apply – similar to Air, Earth, Fire and Water If we discover the rules (e.g. Newton), then God has revealed His knowledge to Us. ( Where have we heard this before? ) Descartes argued for the conservation of motion. At creation, God had injected a certain amount of motion into the universe and this total quantity of motion had been conserved ever since. Descartes, like Aristotle, also pronounced that a vacuum was impossible: Motion is transmitted from one object to another by contact , and there are no empty spaces between. What seems to us empty space is merely extremely extended, fine matter.

9. The Mechanical Universe • God winds up the gears and the Universe works like Clockwork To first order, this is confirmed by Kepler's third law.  • As this mechanical philosophy gained support in Descartes' native France, so did moves towards a "more efficient“ centralized Government control . Descartes' was quick to draw a parallel between the role of Ruler and Creator, • God sets up mathematical laws in nature as a king sets up laws in his kingdom.

10. Components of the Mechanical Philosophy • God originally created the world by putting matter into motion according to certain laws; time took care of the rest; everything is matter in motion. • world is a plenum of matter whirling about in large and small vortices; no void; • Only 2 substances in nature: • Matter (res extensa)  extended and infinitely divisible • Mind (res cognitas)  non-extended and immaterial; endowed in each of us by God, is what makes us individuals, (much like a rational soul);

11. Components of the Mechanical Philosophy • Nature is only this lifeless matter in motion; What we call "life" is merely an epiphenomenon of this matter in motion; it is not intrinsic to nature. We can call things "living," but what we really mean is that their parts are so disposed as to behave automatically in accord to physical laws of necessity;  e.g. The Clockwork Universe • This means that: • Humans are distinct from Nature • Only man is endowed with mind and therefore can think. • The non-human animals are automata (mechanical contrivances).

12. Descartes Influence

13. Descartes Writes • I am indeed amazed when I consider how weak my mind is and how prone to error. • In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate. • The senses deceive from time to time, and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once. • The first precept was never to accept a thing as true until I knew it as such without a single doubt. • 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 • Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems. What does he consider as truth and how does he deal with uncertainty?

14. And thereby make ourselves (through the use of our minds), as it were, the lords and masters of nature. • I suppose the body to be just a statue or a machine made of earth.  • I should like you to consider that these functions follow from the mere arrangement of the machine's organs every bit as naturally as the movements of a clock or other automaton follow from the arrangement of its counter-weights and wheels • [Animals] are destitute of reason . . . and . . . it is nature that acts in them [mechanically]. (Discourse on Method, Part 5)