Discours De La Méthode
Discours De La Méthode
In 1637, a French philosopher published a short, audacious text that would reshape human thought forever. René Descartes proposes something radical: doubt everything until you find something absolutely undeniable. From this methodical skepticism, he arrives at the famous 'I think, therefore I am' - the single truth that cannot be doubted, because the very act of doubting proves a thinking mind exists. This becomes the foundation upon which he重建s all knowledge, establishing the mind-body distinction that would dominate Western philosophy for centuries. Part autobiographical manifesto, part philosophical revolution, Discourse on Method reads like a man clearing away the rubble of centuries to lay fresh foundations. Descartes rejects the Aristotelian edifice that had calcified intodogma and builds instead from reason alone. The result is not merely a text about method - it is the birth certificate of modern philosophy, where the individual mind becomes the measure of all knowledge.
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“And thus, the actions of life often not allowing any delay, it is a truth very certain that, when it is not in our power to determine the most true opinions we ought to follow the most probable.””
— René Descartes
“Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.””
— René Descartes
“At last I will devote myself sincerely and without reservation to the general demolition of my opinions.””
— René Descartes
“It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.””
— René Descartes
“My third maxim was to endeavor always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world, and in general, accustom myself to the persuasion that, except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power; so that when we have done our best in things external to us, all wherein we fail of success is to be held, as regards us, absolutely impossible: and this single principle seemed to me sufficient to prevent me from desiring for the future anything which I could not obtain, and thus render me contented””
— René Descartes
“Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.””
— René Descartes
“For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellence, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations; and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the straight road, than those who, while they run, forsake it.””
— René Descartes
“I knew that the languages which one learns there are necessary to understand the works of the ancients; and that the delicacy of fiction enlivens the mind; that famous deeds of history ennoble it and, if read with understanding, aid in maturing one's judgment; that the reading of all the great books is like conversing with the best people of earlier times; it is even studied conversation in which the authors show us only the best of their thoughts; that eloquence has incomparable powers and beauties; that poetry has enchanting delicacy and sweetness; that mathematics has very subtle processes which can serve as much to satisfy the inquiring mind as to aid all the arts and diminish man's labor; that treatises on morals contain very useful teachings and exhortations to virtue; that theology teaches us how to go to heaven; that philosophy teaches us to talk with appearance of truth about things, and to make ourselves admired by the less learned; that law, medicine, and the other sciences bring honors and wealth to those who pursue them; and finally, that it is desirable to have examined all of them, even to the most superstitious and false in order to recognize their real worth and avoid being deceived thereby””
— René Descartes
“Each problem that I solved became a rule, which served afterwards to solve other problems.””
— René Descartes
