| Question Home |
Position:Home>Philosophy> Do people still follow descartes' philosophy?Question: Do people still follow descartes' philosophy!? Or is he simply a stepping stone for the maturity of modern philosophy!?
I have a problem with his saying that only human adults have souls (thus enabling the countless abuses of children and animals), is there a defense against his stance!?Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: No, I don't follow Descartes's philosophy!. Yes, I agree that he was a stepping stone in modern philosophy!. Rationalism was a significant movement!. I think his reasoning methods were all right but his biased and uninformed axioms were the source of the problem; which led to bad conclusions!. His system of knowledge, which includes proving the existence of God solely on reasoning, was largely biased to his beliefs and limited scientific knowledge at that time!. And I definitely disagree with his mind-body dualism principles!. Any defense on his stance!? Well, many theistic philosophers backed him up!. There is a lot of logic/reasoning in religions using predefined axioms and no empirical data!. This goes hand in hand with Descartes's rationalism!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Well- ginger kids have no souls- so he's right on that front! Its as the previous answer mentions really- ideas can be critically evaluated and appreciated, much like art!. But the moment we start 'following' the philosophies that be we commit to nothing better than that inelegance that is religion!.!.!. also, in the account you give (I personally haven't read any relavent parts to this from Descartes' writings) - being moral doesn't have to be a necessary condition for a truth! Sometimes in the quest for truth we need to brush ethics aside- but the best truths are those that don't even invoke such trivial bothers!.Www@QuestionHome@Com No, most people don't follow Descartes' philosophy today!. If you're referring to his most studied work (Meditations on First Philosophy), he is still an incredibly influential figure, though many of his arguments have been criticized and are often considered incorrect or obsolete!. However, Descartes is still widely studied and written about because of the massive influence his writing and thinking has exerted on modern philosophy!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Actually, Descartes did not only spout out the phrase "I think, therefore I am!." He changed the way that school was conducted!. He thought that children should not be in a structured environment and they should be outside and wander around and be kids!. Which eventually lead to what homeschooling is now today!. I just gave you the most watered down version of that, if you want to know more you can look up on wikipedia!. They give a really good look at himWww@QuestionHome@Com It would be some sort of stone, though, philosophy is more about your own interpretation, I do not think people today plainly follow his ideas, it is just a topic!. About the second part, It is philosophy, he has his own freedom of speech!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Meditations on 1st philosophy contains some important ideas!. But ultimately, I think every philosopher is just a stepping stone!. Do people really "follow" philosophers!?Www@QuestionHome@Com |