Descartes: A Biography

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 Descartes: A Biography

This suggests something very different from what might have been

expected. It is the first written indication of Descartes’ disenchantment

with traditional studies. Obviously, ‘disordered studies and obscure med-

itations’ include those that promised a privileged access to the truth

through arcane symbols and mystical illumination. However, they also

include most of the philosophy of the schools. In order to make progress

in the sciences, therefore, one needs to escape from the complex restric-

tions of traditional disciplines and their subdivisions, and to begin anew

with only the natural light of reason as one’s guide.

The sudden change in strategy implies that, despite the explicit hints

about a method and rules, one should not expect from Descartes anything

that resembles a traditional method, that is, a set of detailed prescriptions

forresolving problems in the various sciences. He offers instead some very

general advice about simplifying problems into subproblems or analyzing

complex realities into simple parts, and then understanding the parts

clearly before moving on to more complex realities. According to Rule,

‘the whole method consists in the order and arrangement of those things

to which the mind’s eye must turn so that we can discover some truth’

(x.). It is not surprising, therefore, if the rules offered are so general

in nature that one would be hard pressed to know, in a particular case,

whether they had been observed or not.

In spite of the generality of the rules, however, there are some indications

already of the scientific methods that Descartes would later recommend.

The ‘entire method’ outlined in Ruleis illustrated with examples of

practitioners who fail to observe it. The essence of the method is to begin

with simple realities that we know, and then to move step by step to

issues that are more complex. Descartes compares those who ignore this

advice to people who try ‘to go from the bottom of some building to

its top in one step.’ Unmethodical researchers also include philosophers

‘who, neglecting experience, think that the truth will spring from their

ownbrains as Minerva did from the head of Jove’ (x.). Accordingly,

theRulesdo not recommend ignoring experience when doing research

in physical science. On the contrary, the most obvious and simple things

to be known in this context are known by experience. The same point

is emphasized in Rule, which illustrates the proposed method by an

example taken from optics. If someone wishes to find the anaclastic for a

particular translucent medium, that is, the line at which parallel rays of

light are refracted so that they intersect at a single point, they should follow