Descartes: A Biography

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 Descartes: A Biography

stars of Jupiter. There are connotations of the empty tomb associated

with the resurrection of Jesus, as reported in the Gospels, and the king’s

empty tomb once God has raised him as a celestial flame in the heavens of

Jupiter.

When Descartes completed his college education in September,

he emerged from what he later described as ‘one of the most renowned

schools in Europe’ (vi.) with a classical education, but no university

qualification.For, despite Henry IV’s approval for establishing Jesuit

colleges, the universities retained the exclusive power of awarding profes-

sional qualifications in the various professions such as law and medicine. If

Descartes were to follow the family tradition, therefore, he needed a uni-

versity degree, and for that reason he went to the University of Poitiers.

He seems to have been in Poitiers fromto, and to have lodged

with his maternal uncle, Ren ́e Brochard. Poitiers was an obvious choice

forDescartes. Apart from his uncle’s residence there and its nearness to

his home, his family had earlier connections with that university. Among

them, his great-grandfather, Jean Ferrand, had become rector of the uni-

versity in.

Following one year of study, possibly completed without attending lec-

tures, Descartes registered at the University of Poitiers onMay

and graduated on successive days,andNovember, with a bach-

elor’s degree and a licentiate in civil and canon law. It was customary to

defend publicly the theses on which the licentiate was awarded some weeks

after the official graduation. Thus Descartes’ public defence was sched-

uled forNovember, and a poster to that effect, which listed the

fortytheses to be defended, was displayed in Poitiers.Forsome unknown

reason, the defence was delayed and was rescheduled forDecember.

The theses were concerned with legal problems that arise in validating

wills and bequests, as befits someone who was studying to practice civil

law. Having completed his formal education, Descartes was twenty years

old; he was qualified for a career in law and could have followed his father

and older brother to Brittany to become a king’s counsellor. Alternatively,

he could have envisaged a post as a teacher, since his qualification was

already the highest one given by a university, or he might have consid-

ered joining the ranks of the clergy or entering religious life (a choice that

emerged prominently among his nieces and one nephew). He chose none

of these. He summarized the uncertainty that caused his change of mind

in theDiscourseas follows: