Descartes: A Biography

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Thoughts of Retirement 

has pursued metaphysical things sufficiently in theMeditationsagainst the sceptics,

and so on, and has established their certainty, so that it is not necessary for everyone to

try to do the same work or to tire themselves in meditating on those matters at length.

It is enough to know the first book of thePrinciples[of Philosophy], in which one finds

whatever is necessary from metaphysics for knowledge of physics etc. (v.)

This might have seemed like an overreaction to recent disputes, or even

the kind of advice that one would give an anxious student. However, it

matches exactly the reply that Descartes had given Princess Elizabeth five

years earlier, when she attempted to get a more detailed explanation of

how the mind and body interact than he was able to provide at the time.

It is also consistent with Descartes’ reflection in his conversation with

Burman on the relative significance of the work he had done, many years

earlier, inThe World.Inretrospect, this now seemed to include the most

memorable and innovative ideas he had ever had. ‘The author concedes,

however, that he remembers with the greatest pleasure those few thoughts

he had about the world, that he values them most highly, and that he would

not exchange them for any other thoughts that he has had on any other

subject.’

Descartes’ attempt to distinguish philosophy from theology was even

more indicative of his recent travails. However, even on this question, there

was no radical departure from views he had expressed frequently since the

earlys.Descartes told Burman that ‘theology should not be subjected

to our reasoning’ and that the simpler we keep it the better (v.).

If the author [i.e., Descartes] knew that anyone would apply certain arguments bor-

rowed from his philosophy to theology and abuse his philosophy by doing so, it would

make him regret the work he had done. However, we can and ought to show that the-

ological truths are consistent with philosophical truths, but we should not scrutinize

the former in any way. This is how monks have provided an opportunity to all sects

and heresies, namely, by means of their scholastic theology, which should have been

obliterated before anything else. Why should we put so much effort into theology,

when we see that peasants and simple people can get to heaven just as easily as we can?

This should surely warn us that it would be much better to have a theology that is as

simple as they are, than one which is plagued with many controversies and corrupted

in such a way that it opens the way to disputes, quarrels, wars, and so on. (v.)

This reply to Burman had obvious connotations of the recent disputes

with theologians at Utrecht and Leiden. Descartes added that theologians

were so expert in denigrating their opponents that it had almost become

their specialty.