Descartes Discourse on the Method (Essay Sample)

Descartes' Discourse on the Method
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Descartes' Discourse on the Method
Descartes embarks on a journey of discovering the truth. However, he is aware that given the influence of opinion and the uncertain nature of the conclusions one is likely to arrive at, his first point is to seek a strong method by which to ascertain the truth of anything for that matter. He begins by rejecting as false everything regarding which he could imagine any doubt to find out whether this left him with anything entirely indubitable to believe (Descartes, 2007). He rejects the senses since they are at times deceptive. All the arguments he previously held to be demonstrative proofs are considered shaky now since men are prone to errors in their reasoning. Further, he assumes that his thoughts about reality and what he considers being such held no more truth than the illusions of his dreams. This is because the state of mind while one is awake can also occur while one is asleep and dreaming. This does not mean that these thoughts have any truth in them.
One would expect that the line of reasoning adopted by Descartes would yield a thorough confirmation of truth, particularly of the absolute existence of the self. However, it leads him to a surprise conclusion, instead proving the existence of God. At this point, it would seem that his rejection of the existence of anything that he has the slightest doubt about would invariably lead to the rejection of the existence of God. This is because, superficially, it would appear easier to prove the existence of oneself rather than the existence of an entity whose being is a matter of conjecture rather than evidence. In other words, there is no certainty concerning the existence of God and it would appear that Descartes’ line of thought is directed towards its rejection. But it is worth considering how Descartes arrives, on the contrary, to the proof of the existence of God.
Descartes realizes that while it is almost easy to reject every belief and idea that he had previously held because they cannot be taken as certain, there is, however, one thing that he cannot deny. By rejecting anything doubtful, and by keeping in check his own opinions, he is actively engaging in a process. In other words, he cannot deny that he is thinking. While he can reject the truth of the contents of his thought, he cannot reject the fact that at least there is something that is actively absorbing, filtering, assessing, re-assessing, and coordinating these contents; and this, he thinks, is him. As such, he feels satisfied and convinced that he exists because he thinks.
The idea that ‘he is thinking, therefore he exists’ becomes Descartes’ first principle because he believes that the truth of his existence is so firm that it could not be shaken. Consequently, this leads to the major question of what exactly he is. How he addresses this question and his reflection on his own being is what is somehow surprising. One would assume that from this point on, Descartes would more boldly and conclusively delve into an exercise of self evaluation and thoroughly engage in a discourse with the self, thus, providing concrete answers concerning what constitutes the self. For instance, it would be assumed that Descartes would engage in deeper inquiries about the nature of his material composition and whether this at all has any influence on his being a ‘thinking thing’. On the contrary, he brushes aside the element of material composition and this is understandable given that his method is based on doubt assumedly of the reality of physical existence.
While it is easy for Descartes to doubt the truth of existence of physical things, he realizes that he cannot doubt the truth of his existence simply because he is aware of himself through thinking. This teaches him that “he is a substance whose whole essence or nature is simply to think, and which does not need any place, or depends on any material thing in order to exist” (Descartes, 2007, p. 15). This position...