SOCY 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Cogito Ergo Sum, Persian Letters, Morality Play
15 Jun 2018
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October 17, 2016
Descartes:
- Discourse on method 1637 – in French
- Eliminate previous knowledge based on prejudice or tradition (or religious precept)
- Radical doubt
- Four rules to the discourse on method
o Accept nothing; reject prejudice;
o Divide questions into simplest parts
o Begin with most simple – move to more complex
o Review thoroughly
- Reject all previous knowledge
- “to doubt” is a certainty
- “to doubt” is “to think”
- “to think” is “to exist”
o “I think therefore I am”
o “dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum”
- From metaphysics to observation
- Radical doubt – challenged established “truths”
- Method supported emerging inductive (observationally based) sciences
- Critique/criticism central to scholarship and knowledge
The enlightenment:
- Hume, Smith, Ferguson, French philosophes, Montesquieu
- Variety of interests – scientific, mechanical, philosophical, literary (emerging
sociological)
- Perfectibility of human kind, progress (through scientific knowledge), dispel erroneous
systems of thought
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Montesquieu:
- Biography and social structure
- Landowner, philosophe (though not widely recognized), power of ideas, travelled widely,
immersed in “world of letters”
- Persian letters – morality play, candid analysis of 18th century life in France
o Parody
o Critical of the inequalities, injustices and culture of French society
o Done through the views of two Persian visitors.
- Considerations on the roman empire – historically based analysis
- Not fortune but government action determines prosperity
- Government must reflect the “spirit” of the people
o The wants and needs of the people
o A government that is unable to respond and understand the wants of the people
will crumble.
- Tried to organize critical discussions and topics in such a way that the community and
people could talk through the issues.
- When he goes o England, he becomes fascinated by the parliamentary system
- He travelled to see how other societies worked
- Spirit of the laws:
o His major work
o Based on observation – specific basic principles – predict direction of society
o Three social types – despotisms, monarchies, republics
o Their nature – despot, king, legislative body
o Their principles – fear, honour, virtue
▪ Despot: fear—when fear is gone, the despot is too.
▪ Monarchies: honour—as long as the idea of honour is held, then the
monarchy is stable. When honour is not held the monarchy is unstable
▪ Republics: virtue – as virtuous individuals, they will be able to understand
the public
- Broke society down into constituent parts – laws governing a society part of a larger
system (not legal system, but underling laws)
- Terrain, climate, population
- “spirit” of society – laws, maxims, mores, customs, styles of thought, the “atmosphere” in
the court
- Plato The Republic (380 BCE)
o Socratic dialogue
o Justice – what is just?
▪ A concept
▪ What would the government have to look like to make the world a just
place
o What social/political structure could deliver justice
o The Philosopher King
- Hobbes Levithan:
o Natural power – eminence of one’s faculties
o Conflict over resources – war of all against all
o Each individual has their own strengths
- Rousseau The Social Contract:
o Two fundamental principles – a deep interest in its welfare; repugnance of
suffering, pain, and death
o Human perfectibility required association and a social formation
o Willingly enter into social contract
- Montesquieu and sociology:
o Importance of observation – the “nature of things”
o Broken to constituent parts – key focus on social “spirit” – customs, mores, style
of thought
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Document Summary
Discourse on method 1637 in french. Eliminate previous knowledge based on prejudice or tradition (or religious precept) Four rules to the discourse on method: accept nothing; reject prejudice, divide questions into simplest parts, begin with most simple move to more complex, review thoroughly. To think is to exist : i think therefore i am , dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum . Method supported emerging inductive (observationally based) sciences. Variety of interests scientific, mechanical, philosophical, literary (emerging sociological) Perfectibility of human kind, progress (through scientific knowledge), dispel erroneous systems of thought. Landowner, philosophe (though not widely recognized), power of ideas, travelled widely, immersed in world of letters . Persian letters morality play, candid analysis of 18th century life in france: parody, critical of the inequalities, injustices and culture of french society, done through the views of two persian visitors. Considerations on the roman empire historically based analysis. Not fortune but government action determines prosperity.
