Saturday, April 29, 2023

Another side of Descartes

 What I’d forgotten about Descartes: How zany he was.

For example, here he is wrapping up Meditation No. 4, in which he outlined a method of correcting one’s judgment:

 

And in as much as it in this the greatest and principal perfection of man consists, it seems to me that I have not gained little by this day’s Meditation, since I have discovered the source of falsity and error.

 

Perhaps tomorrow he will invent calculus or do some such thing, but enough for today.

The 17th century must have been wonderful. Can you imagine that sentence appearing in a book today?

• Source: René Descartes, A Discourse on Method and Other Works; New York, Washington Square Press, 1965, p. 51.

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