c CUNYB/Clarke December, :
Magic, Mathematics, and Mechanics completely wrong about this’ (x.). Descartes’ suggestion is that all the
sciences are interrelated and dependent on one another, and that if any-
onewishes ‘seriously to investigate the truth about things...they should
think instead only about increasing the natural light of reason ’ (x.)by
which the truth is discovered. The analogy to which he appeals is the Sun,
shining brightly on all the objects that it illuminates. Similarly, the light
of reason illuminates and reveals all the truths that await our discovery.
It follows that we should not be distracted by specific disciplines, such as
mathematics or astronomy, which are like different possible objects to be
illuminated. The most fundamental thing required in a general method is
subjective, namely, an ability to shine the light of reason appropriately on
various objects, and that involves innate skills of some kind. If there are
rules of method, therefore, they can be found by investigating what we
would do spontaneously if left to our own naturally endowed intellectual
dispositions.
This turns the project inward, to looking at the intellectual capacities
of the human mind and to very elementary rules for using those capacities
as best we can. However, that also raises a complementary objection that
was discussed in Rule: perhaps no method at all is required. Descartes
replies that studying without a method is how ‘almost all chemists, most
geometers, and quite a number of philosophers study’ (x.). They are
like people looking for a treasure who wander about the streets aimlessly
and hope to stumble on the object of their search. They may be lucky,
butthe chances are that they will find very little. At this point one might
expect Descartes to outline an alternative, systematic, and more reliable
way of discovering solutions to problems. However, instead of offering
an intellectual compass or guide for those who search for the truth, he
immediately introduces a theme that remains with him for the rest of his
life: that the natural light of reason is obscured or inhibited by traditional
learning....it is much more satisfactory never to think about seeking the truth about any-
thing, than to do so without a method, because it is very certain that the natural light
is obscured and our intelligence is blinded by such disordered studies and obscure
meditations. Anyone who gets used to walking in this way in the shadows weakens
their eyesight to such an extent that they cannot subsequently tolerate daylight. This
is confirmed by experience, for we see very often that those who have never studied
judge much more reliably and clearly about simple things than those who have spent
all their time in the schools. (x.)