MMW 13 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Cogito Ergo Sum, Scientific Revolution, Deism
The Transition from Absolutism to Uncertainty
Advancements of the Scientific Revolution also inspired modern sense of
uncertainty
“The more we know, the more we realize how little we truly
understand”
i)
Newton’s Deist compromise
ii)
a)
Doesn’t mean religion could replace absolute faith
b)
Law of gravitational movement--cannot compare with God
c)
I)
Intellectual Uncertainty
Descartes’s “I infer ‘I Think Therefore I Am’”
Described his own 1636 philosophical work as a kind of “fable”
Reflected Descartes inherit skepticism
(1)
i)
Negative Deduction
Negation of truth as a starting premise
1)
If there is anything he cant be certain of, he must say it is
false
2)
Dismisses as false all things that may evoke the slightest hint
of doubt
(1)
Context of his famous statement “I think therefore I am”
Since he can doubt--> must be thinking--> because he is
thinking--> he must exist
1)
(2)
ii)
The thinking “I” is simply a miraculous gift of God
iii)
a)
Mocking Certainty: Cervantes’s “Don Quixote”
Published in 1607—considered the first European novel
Novels were seen as modern
(1)
i)
Questioning the very stability of “truth”
E.g. The satirical take on the man character’s actual name
Plays with us in terms of questioning the name
1)
Much of what he says is "tongue and cheek humor"
2)
(1)
A novel foregrounding its own fictionality
Self concious narrative
1)
Fully concious in the act of telling this story
2)
(2)
ii)
b)
II)
Lecture 26
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
10:03 AM
Document Summary
Advancements of the scientific revolution also inspired modern sense of uncertainty i) ii) The more we know, the more we realize how little we truly understand . Descartes"s i infer i think therefore i am" i) ii) Described his own 1636 philosophical work as a kind of fable (1) If there is anything he cant be certain of, he must say it is false. Dismisses as false all things that may evoke the slightest hint of doubt. Context of his famous statement i think therefore i am . Since he can doubt--> must be thinking--> because he is thinking--> he must exist (1) (2) The thinking i is simply a miraculous gift of god iii) Mocking certainty: cervantes"s don quixote b) i) ii) Published in 1607 considered the first european novel (1) Plays with us in terms of questioning the name. Much of what he says is "tongue and cheek humor" The satirical take on the man character"s actual name.
