The Daring Philosophers: Rebel Thinkers, #1

By Marc De Lima and Mary Duffy

Many are the philosophers who have proposed ideas, explanations, and solutions to the riddles of the universe. Few are the ones who have left us definitive answers. I have chosen six philosophers because their ideas are so daring and well argued that remain unrefuted despite the attempts by lesser luminaries of philosophy. Given the resonant and authoritative voices of Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Rousseau, Nietzsche, and Sartre, I have titled this book The Daring Philosophers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marc De Lima
• Release date: Jun 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201483937

Marc De Lima

Marc De Lima, a graduate of Columbia University, is a decorated and disabled Vietnam veteran, retired business executive, college professor, editor, translator, and author of over 105 books. He lives in NYC with his wife Mary Duffy and Mister Darcy—a Shih-Tzu.

Book preview

Chapter 1 – Descartes

The Jesuits ° Founder of Modern Mathematics ° Doubt as a method ° Cogito, ergo sum ° Existence of God ° Mind and Body ° Clear and Distinct ° Innate Ideas ° Freedom

Personal history

Youth

René Descartes (1596 - 1650) was born in La Haye, a city in central France. He attended an internship in the Jesuit school, Henri IV in the Flèche. Picture 4

This elite school accepted children of the French upper classes. Descartes was unhappy there, and apparently regretted the eight years he seemed to have wasted there:

From my childhood I lived in a world of books and ... I was eager to learn from them... as soon as I had finished my studies there... I found myself laden with so many doubts and errors that I seemed to have gained nothing. Yet, I had been in one of the most celebrated schools in all of Europe.

He later got a law degree at 22, at the University of Poitiers, although he never practiced law because an influential teacher convinced to go for loftier things: to decipher the universe! So, instead, he would have to study mathematics and logic, which Descartes did, adding studies of theology and medicine.

In his Discourse on Method, he writes that after having made some surprising discoveries (with his method); he felt that, at 22, it was too early for him to reveal his findings. I needed to gain more experience in life, he admitted.

So, he traveled.

He served two years in the Dutch army (1617); And another two years in the army of Bavaria (1619), taking part in some battles in the War of the Thirty Years. After his discharge, he visited Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

Steven Strogatz, in his book Infinite Powers, describes Descartes as: one of the most ambitious thinkers of all time. Daring, intellectually fearless, and contemptuous of authority, he had an ego as big as his genius. But concerning his looks and attitude, he says,

At a personal level, he could be paranoid and thin-skinned. The most famous portrait of him shows a man with a gaunt face, haughty eyes, and a snide mustache. He looks like a cartoon villain.

His mature life

Having gained experience and maturity, Descartes continues to work on developing his new method of finding truthful knowledge. His seminal idea for his method was to doubt everything and reject everything that was not clear and distinct to the understanding. Determined to find the truth, he asked himself: How can I be sure that I am not dreaming? In this respect, he followed what Francis Bacon — a contemporary British philosopher and politician — had coined as an aphorism: if a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties."

During the siege of La Rochelle, a city defended by the Huguenots, Descartes returned to military life. This time, he joined the French army (1628). Again, at the end of his contract, he settled in Holland, where he lived for the next 20 years. picture 1

In 1649, Descartes moved to Stockholm to instruct in philosophy Queen Christina of Sweden. The Queen — a cross-eyed woman fond of learning — wanted to begin her studies at 5 AM, a rather grueling request. Although not accustomed to working at this early hour, he consented since he had a secret passion for the princess. The work, combined with severe weather, affected Descartes’ health, as he died of pneumonia the following year, 1650.

Descartes’ biographer Stephen Gaukroger in his book Passions says that Descartes had a fetish for strabismic women: When I was a child, Descartes confided, I was in love with a girl of my own age who was slightly cross-eyed; consequently, whenever I looked at her unfocused eyes, the impression of that vision of her on my brain was so linked to what aroused the passion of love that, for long afterward, whenever I saw cross-eyed people I felt more inclined to love them than others.

About the Method

In 1637, Descartes published Optics, Meteorology and Geometry, a collection of scientific essays. Also, he published Discours de la méthode ( Discourse on the Method ); and in 1641, Meditationes de prima philosophia ( Meditations on First Philosophy ), also known as Metaphysical Meditations.

Confident that his radical and modern method could stand criticism, he launched it. Writing in clear, direct, and often elegant French, he made his method accessible not only to the wise, but to all who wanted to distinguish falsehood from truth in knowledge.

With his new method, people could understand not only of the physical world, the fauna, the flora—but also human nature. Descartes’s method and simple prose altered the course of philosophy: starting first with the proof of the existence of self – cogito, ergo sum — he then deduces the existence and nature of God. 

The Practical Side of Descartes’ Method

"M y third maxim was always to try to conquer myself rather than fortune and change my desires rather than the world order." — Descartes

When a reporter asked the captain of an Olympic crew, How do you handle those huge waves, those bursts of wind and underground currents? The captain replied: We do not worry about that; these things are off the boat. We really concentrate on what happens on our ship alone.

This story reminded me of Descartes’ the Discourse on Method, which sets out some rules or precepts to know and accept the truth (instead of false), and some rules of ethics, or as he calls them, ‘a code of Provisional morality.’

This third maxim or rule, despite its apparent simplicity, contains a truth that hides in plain sight. Descartes says:

"My third maxim was always to try to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the world order, and generally get used to the persuasion that, except our own thoughts, there is nothing Absolutely within our reach. When we have given the best effort regarding things external to us, if success is not achieved reason lies in ourselves. This single principle would be enough for me to get anything I wanted in the future. The truth is that our will naturally seeks those objects that the understanding represents as possible of achievement. It is clear then that, if we consider all external goods as equally above our power, we will never regret their absence. We have to accept that we have no right to them when we are deprived of them without any fault of ours. If we do not own the kingdoms of China or Mexico—that is fine. We must not covet the wings of the birds to be able to fly.

How true is this maxim!

Why bother — like the captain of the crew says — about things over which we have absolutely no control?

Because Descartes’ long and complex phraseology contains too much wisdom, I have divided it into small snacks to make them more digestible:

1. Conquer yourself and not fortune.

2. Change your desire and not the world.

3. Apart from our thoughts, nothing else is really in our power.

Can the captain of the crew change the fortune or misfortune of the elements? Can he and his team alter the waves, the winds, and currents of the seas? I do not think so. However, the team can only change their own strategies and efforts to conquer and win. What happens outside the ship is of no importance to the crew.

Conquer yourself instead of fortune

When I plan my day and my week, and I see that the weather predicts rains, thunder, and thunderstorms for two of three days. What I can do? Should I fight the elements and continue my daily walks? No way. What I do is adjust my schedule so that I can enjoy some activities inside my house. With great pleasure, I anticipate reading the books that have been on the shelf for too long collecting dust.

I remember an incident. Having just received a modest salary increase, I complained bitterly that my check despite the increase was still too short: with all taxes and deductions drawn, what I have left is misery ... All the complaints and complaints of the world would not change the fact that I would not receive another salary increase until next year. My solution was to adjust myself, to conquer myself and not my