phil 7

Introduction to Hobbes and Descartes

• Focus: Exploring Descartes’ rationalism and Hobbes’ empiricist critiques.

• Timeline: Both philosophers born close in time (Hobbes in 1588, Descartes in 1596).

Biography: Thomas Hobbes

• Birth: 1588, England.

• Early Career:

  • Graduated from Oxford in 1608.

  • Tutored Lord Cavendish's son throughout his life.

  • Served as amanuensis to Francis Bacon (1619-1623), noted for his intelligence.

  • Published a translation of Thucydides in 1629, which reflects his realist perspective.

• Influences:

  • Spent time in Paris in 1635, associated with Descartes’ correspondents.

  • Met Galileo in Florence in 1636, influenced by the context of Galileo’s trial.

• Key Works:

  • Leviathan (1651): His major political philosophy work advocating for authority and social contract.

  • Additional works include De Corpore and De Homine, broader philosophical contributions.

• Longevity: Lived until 1679, contributing significantly to political philosophy and early empiricism.

Biography: René Descartes

• Birth: 1596, France.

• Education:

  • Attended Jesuit school in La Fleche until 1614.

  • Studied law at Poitiers.

• Career:

  • Engaged in military activities, living a mobile scholar's life.

  • Famous revelation in 1619 regarding the method of science, influenced by dreams.

• Key Works:

  • Discourse on Method (1637): Introduced rationalism, mathematics’ analytic geometry, optics, meteorology.

  • Meditations on First Philosophy (1641): Philosophical foundational work.

  • Principles of Philosophy (1641), The Passions of the Soul (1649).

  • Death: Died in 1650 after being invited to Stockholm.

Philosophical Ideas

Rationalism vs. Empiricism

• Descartes' Rationalism:

  • Emphasis on subjective knowledge and methods of doubt to reach certainty.

  • Cogito, ergo sum: "I think, therefore I am" as foundational knowledge.

• Empiricism:

  • Hobbes critiques rationalism, emphasizing knowledge derived from sensory experience.

  • Agreement on rejection of scholasticism, promoting knowledge based on individual experience rather than tradition.

Hobbes vs. Descartes

• Influence of Galileo:

  • Galileo’s trial serves as a cautionary tale for Hobbes and Descartes concerning scientific inquiry and church doctrine.

• Philosophical Focus:

  • Hobbes: Primarily a political philosopher, but with significant contributions to empiricism and a materialist view on the mind.

  • Descartes: Focus on rationalism, mind-body dualism, and the role of clear and distinct ideas.

• Arguments in Meditations:

  • Descartes seeks certainty and argues against the reliability of senses; doubts everything but his own existence.

  • Introduces the concept of the evil genius as a thought experiment to explore doubt.

Key Philosophical Contributions

Method of Doubt

• Cartesian Doubt:

  • Engaging in hyperbolic doubt to ascertain beliefs with absolute certainty.

  • Challenges the reliability of sensory perceptions and dreams.

  • Moves from doubt to foundational beliefs, especially regarding his own existence.

Idea of God and Truth

• God's Existence:

  • Descartes argues the existence of God based on the concept of perfection (third meditation).

  • Objections to his arguments include questioning the reliability of ideas and possible fallacies in reasoning.

• Nature of Knowledge:

  • Belief in God's existence leads Descartes to validate human capacity for knowledge and truth through reasoning.

  • God’s goodness prevents deception, reinforcing the reliability of ordinary beliefs if reasoned correctly.

Hobbes’ Critique of Cartesianism

• Materialism:

  • Hobbes views the mind as a physical construct, rejecting Descartes’ dualism.

  • Insists on grounding thoughts in tangible experiences rather than abstract reasoning.

• Disagreement on Ideas:

  • Hobbes challenges Descartes on whether ideas can exist independently of sensory experience, asserting an empirical lens.

Conclusion & Future Directions

• Summary of contrasting views of Hobbes (empiricism, materialism) and Descartes (rationalism, dualism).

• Next lecture: Locke’s critique of innate ideas as he builds on and diverges from Cartesian thought.