Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Born to a wealthy aristocratic family, Descartes was gifted from a young age.
After finishing his studies at age 16 he claimed to have known everything he could know from books and proceeded to wonder around Paris.
Eventually he came under the guidance of an intellectual monk, Marin Mersenne, who provided intellectual and spiritual support.
Then Descartes engaged in one of his aspirations, though Catholic, he became a mercenary for the Protestant Dutch army.
Descartes then came under the wing of dutch philosopher Isaac Beeckman who helped shape insights in mathematical theory.
Bored by the Protestant cause, Descartes switched sides to the Catholic forces in southern Germany.
Descartes then had a few "Visions"
1) His first concerned analytic geometry with the development of Cartesian coordinates in which he posits that any point in space could be precisely defined by 3 coordinates x,y and z
2) His second was an expansion of his previous findings. Though a skeptic, Descartes tried to prove that his geometrical findings could be applied to nonmathematical fields.
He argued that the most simple properties of the physical world (Simple Natures) were those whose existence could not be analyzed or doubted. Our sensory impressions may seem obvious but maybe incredibly misleading.
He argued that only 2 physical properties were Simple Natures
1) Extension: The occupation of physical space
2) Motion: The movement across physical space
All physical phenomena could be explained in terms of these two properties.
Galileo (1564-1642) proposed a similar finding.
3 Primary qualities: Shape, Quantity and Motion
When the Primary qualities interact with primary qualities of primary qualities of sensory organs then Secondary qualties (sights, sounds etc ) arise.
Descartes was reluctant to publish his works after the arrest of Galileo so much of his work was published after death.
Descartes physics honoured Democritus in the atomic theory. However he denied that atoms moved in a void.
Descarte saw the universe as composed of 3 different kinds of material particles.
One particle leaves no empty space as this space is refilled by other particles.
The 3 kinds of elements are fire, air and earth. Air particles and fire particles were to small to see.
Air particles are between everything and vibrate in a column to account for sight.
In anantomy, Descartes thought the cerebrospinal fluid as being animal spirits and he falsely thought nerves to be hollow and would send animal spirits in responses to tugs initiated by sensory organs. Though false this is very close to how reflexes actually operate.
Descartes also thought that this could be possible via an acquired response from previous stimuli through learning.
Also recognized that external stimuli may affect behaviour through these animal spirits.
In wakefulness these spirits are maximally used, in sleep, they are controlled for the most part.
Much in aline with Aristotle's distinction of souls, Descartes opined that nonhumans could be completely understood through mechanistic terms (Automata).
Humans on the other hand had the capacity for rational much akin to Aristotle's rational soul.
Thinking was the only thing that could not be doubted. "Je pense donc je suis" One's mind is the only thing undoubtable.
Descartes concluded that innate ideas were independent of these sensory experiences but derived from the nature of the thinking soul.
3 innate ideas: My finite thinking, God, and my body.
This sharp distinction between mind and body is referred as dualism.
Added that the important phenomena are the result of an interaction between mind and body.
Commonly referred to as interactive dualism.
Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia (1618-1680) was a correspondent of Descartes who proved to be philosophically knowledgable in her own right, questioning his theory of mind and body and how an immaterial mind could interact with a material soul.
- Descartes response was that a body without a soul is under complete mechanistic control of external stimuli while a soul without a body would be conscious, but only of its innate ideas (Avicenna's floating man).
Speculated that the pineal gland was where sensations from the divided body were unified.
The mind's conscious experiences of these spirits are called the passions.
John Locke and the Empiricists
Locke adopted many of Descartes ideas but based them into an empiricist theory.
- Did not accept Descartes idea of innate ideas and denied that the mind is always active.
Locke was influenced by the intellectual atmosphere of his time and became a follower of Robert Boyle
- Eventually befriended the lord Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper through being his personal physician.
Soon Cooper committed treason against Charles II by declaring the parliament should not allow the younger catholic brother James to succeed. Locke had to flee due to his relations with Cooper and went to Holland under the pseudonym Dr. van der Linden.
Locke Published An Essay Concerning Human Understanding in which he professed his empiricist "Tabla rasa" views stating that experience is how all knowledge is founded.
The mind has 2 types of experiences
Sensations: Of objects of the external world
Reflections: Of the mind's own operations, produce memories
Immediate knowledge is reffered to as intuitive knowledge
Demonstrative knowledge is found through reasoning
Sensitive knowledge (the largest according to Locke) Is composed of patterns and experiences.
Association of ideas Is the linking or combining of ideas
First we produce simple ideas and after experience we produce complex ideas.
Locke expanded on Hobbes's ideas that society is formed merely through social constructs but that social constructs were positive and rational.
Leibniz (1646-1716)
Developed a mathematical calculating machine, binary arithmetic, and infinitesimal calculus.
Disagreed with Locke and Descartes
-Leibniz stated that the world was not made of inanimate particles but rather animate ones called monads.
-The most numerous were bare monads who had the least amount of awarness. Comparable to people in deep sleep.
Then a level higher were sentient monads with capacities for sensation and perception of material objects and memory
- Higher were rational monads capable of becoming the soul or mind
Apperception: Was the consciousness of the rational monads
God was the Supreme Monad and humans could dimly appreciate this (ALA Spinoza)
Because of this Leibniz is refered as a rationalist.
Ideas are innate to us he believed these are necessary truths
Consciousness was formed through minute perceptions of these monads
Locke's views became incredibly important especially in England
There they became known as British associationism
George Berkley then used Lockes approach to analyze depth perception through and empiricist view.
David Hartley argued that ideas are the subjective results of minute vibrtions in specific locations of the brain.
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