The English philosopher was a supporter of empiricism in the knowledge of nature FRANCIS BACON Bacon said that only experience leads to accurate knowledge of nature. Mental reasoning builds only hypothetical conclusions, which do not prove anything without confirmation by experience. An inference is only an opinion; it is not yet exact knowledge about nature, because exact knowledge is that knowledge that exactly corresponds to any fact of material existence. And the fact of material existence is never a product of inference, because the mind does not generate matter and does not create nature. The fact of material existence is a product of material existence itself and is always revealed sensually. Thus, exact knowledge is nothing more than a fact obtained by sensory experience, that is, exact knowledge about nature is experience as such, and inference is just a guess. Based on this, experience has three advantages over rational methods of cognition:
- Experience verifies and proves the truth or fallacy of any rationally derived scientific hypothesis.
- Experience does not simply test rational hypotheses, experience with its facts shapes the reasoning itself and directs knowledge along the desired path.
- Thus , experience initially creates the reasoning itself, but it itself also clears this reasoning from the position of the experimenter, who, according to his preferences, can take this reasoning anywhere. Hence, experience is objective, in contrast to rational knowledge, and, as a result, the knowledge obtained from it has a generally accepted obligation.
From these three advantages of experimental knowledge Francis Bacon deduces principles of positive knowledge ( correct knowledge ) about nature :
- Man perceives nature sensually, and on the basis of this he draws rational conclusions. But this seemingly simple and correct process of obtaining knowledge is completely insufficient for this knowledge to become positive and correct. Because the very senses with which a person perceives nature are not a pure instrument of cognition that collects information as it is in its natural form. Feelings human beings are such that in the knowledge of natural phenomena they mix their own internal properties with natural properties, distorting the true picture of things. In the same way, inferences based on these sensory perceptions are also not a tool for pure understanding of nature, because inferences have their own nature, their own internal laws and forms of life, which also impose the nature of their properties on the properties of knowable natural phenomena, and also distort the true picture of things.
- Consequently, if a person wants to correctly understand nature, then he must understand it only to the extent that he can become familiar with its internal order, without bringing anything from himself into it. In principle, a person is not able to know more than the order that exists in nature and should not at all if he wants to influence nature correctly, in accordance with its internal order. Consequently, a person’s positive knowledge of nature is predetermined by its real internal order, and not by the rational power of his mind, which brings something of its own.
- Thus, the root of all the evils of wrong knowledge in science lies in the exaggeration of the theoretical power of the mind, because the mind can only practically find something in nature, but cannot theoretically produce anything from itself. And if this is so, then the purpose of the mind is only to base your reasoning simply on visual aids of experimentally established facts. Because only in the case when experimentally established facts are used as the basis for inferences can we say that these inferences reveal the internal order of nature, and not some internal properties of the senses or the mind itself, which have only the appearance of elements of the internal order of nature , but not actually related to them.
- However, experimentally established and theoretically comprehended facts of nature are only particulars obtained from sensations and do not provide general, integral knowledge about nature. Therefore, in order to obtain general, integral knowledge about nature, it is necessary to continuously and gradually move from individual experimentally established facts to increasingly general scientific provisions that describe nature in an increasingly generalized and increasingly integral picture. But it is impossible to expand and generalize the factuality itself in the content of correct knowledge, where a once established fact always remains the same fact, therefore it is necessary to expand and generalize the theoretical understanding of these facts. Thus, positive, generalized and integral knowledge about nature is a process of continuous and gradual theoretical ascent in understanding experimental facts ( induction from facts). And the main sign of positive knowledge will be the correspondence of theoretical scientific provisions to the experimental facts of nature, which can only be confirmed by experimental testing.
- Thus, experience creates correct knowledge, and experience verifies it. But logical analysis, rational comprehension or debate are not sufficient for correct knowledge. Because the theoretical ascent of the mind from particular facts is only a theoretical warning of nature (a warning of knowledge about it), always somewhat hasty, since it is only a model of the mind, but not real nature itself. But experimental verification is already real nature, it is a meeting with nature, where its interpretation is tested and finally accepted. As a result, positive knowledge about nature is achieved, the highest goal of which is human domination over it.
The founder of rationalism in the doctrine of knowledge was RENE DESCARTES. His rationalism had the following justifications:
- The main problem of knowledge is its reliability. This problem can be solved by bring the processes of cognition closer to the mathematical system of thinking. What kind of mathematical thinking is meant? This refers to that system of mathematical thinking in which literally from several mathematical principles- from obvious truths (axioms) and absolutely simple principles - is displayed complex, whole, true system of knowledge of all mathematics. If we take the same thing as a model for understanding the world, then the true and reliable knowledge of the world must also be derived from several axiomatically true world principles and phenomena.
- Thus, the main task of cognition is to determine the actual truth of any fundamental principles of the world with the aim of subsequently developing general reliable knowledge from them. AND how to find something truly true from everything that is in the world? In order to find something truly true, from which true knowledge can be developed, First we need to try to doubt the truth of everything, what is there, and therefore look - what can you doubt, and what cannot be doubted? If you can even somehow doubt something, then it is not true, because a mathematical axiom, for example, does not give any reason to doubt itself. And if something cannot be doubted, like a mathematical axiom, then it will be true.
- Now, if we even begin this task, we will immediately understand that you can doubt the reality of everything that exists, including even your own body, but you cannot doubt only one thing - it is impossible to doubt the reality this one the doubt itself which we are experiencing now. Thus, the very act of doubt, even if it calls into question everything it is aimed at, remains absolutely certain and absolutely valid.
- Since doubt itself is real and absolutely obvious, then what produces this doubt must also be considered truly valid and absolutely obvious. Because only the truly real can produce the truly real. A produces doubt nothing more than human thought . Thus, the true beginning of real knowledge is thought.
- However, this conclusion does not yet bring us definitively closer to the mathematical structure of thinking, which we take as a model. Let's remember that in mathematics, its true principles are extremely simple concepts, whose truth is recognized simply intuitively, due to their self-evidence. Hence , the beginning of real knowledge must also be a thought containing the extremely simplest concepts, which cannot be doubted .
- Thus, the beginnings of true knowledge are self-evident ideas and concepts that are indisputably valid by the intuitive recognition of their mind. But what is the simplest concepts, accepted as truth intuitively? These are concepts that cannot be proven logically, that is, concepts that do not and cannot have any history of their knowledge, these are concepts that are either real and true immediately, or they do not exist at all. And if something exists, but cannot have a history of its origin, then this means that it exists initially. Therefore, these self-evident and incontrovertibly valid ideas and concepts are by their nature originally existing. But where do these concepts exist? Where do concepts even exist? They exist in the mind. But, if they are original and exist in the mind, then they exist in the mind initially, that is, innately for a person. Consequently, the beginnings of reliable knowledge are contained in certain true ideas and concepts that exist innately in the human mind.
- And what follows from this? How can positive reliable knowledge be derived from these self-evident truths, whose reliability is accepted intuitively? This should be done while observing two basic conditions for correct rational knowledge:- accept as true only those provisions that, by their clarity and obviousness, do not raise doubts (intuition); - methodically move with the help of logic from these intuitively accepted true provisions to new, still unknown provisions ( deduction).
- Moreover, correct rational knowledge must apply two methods of correct research: - break down a complex problem into simpler components ( analysis); - do not allow omissions in logical steps of reasoning. In addition to his theory of knowledge, Descartes had a significant influence on modern thought with his concept of world space. Descartes understood the world's material space as a homogeneous, voidless, infinite material substance that forms all bodies from itself. This concept of Descartes opposed the concept of Newton, for whom world space was a materialless void containing material things and physical processes. Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes defined two general concepts of knowledge of the New Time - empiricism and rationalism. In addition to them, other thinkers also contributed to the development of philosophy, among whom, following Bacon and Descartes, chronologically follows
For the philosophy of modern times, the dispute between empiricism and rationalism is of fundamental importance. Representatives of empiricism (Bacon) considered sensations and experience to be the only source of knowledge. Proponents of rationalism (Descartes) extol the role of reason and belittle the role of sensory knowledge.
The main theme of modern philosophy was the theme of knowledge. Two major currents have emerged: empiricism And rationalism, who interpreted the sources and nature of human knowledge differently.
Supporters of empiricism, which Bacon was, argued that the main source of reliable knowledge about the world is human sensations and experience. Bacon considered philosophy to be an experimental science based on observation, and its subject should be the surrounding world, including man himself. Supporters of empiricism called for relying in everything on the data of experience and human practice.
Bacon's classification of sciences, which represented an alternative to Aristotle’s, was recognized for a long time as fundamental by many European scientists. Bacon based his classification on such abilities of the human soul as memory, imagination (fantasy), and reason. Accordingly, the main sciences according to Bacon should be history, poetry, and philosophy. The division of all sciences into historical, poetic and philosophical is determined by Bacon by a psychological criterion. Thus, history is knowledge based on memory; it is divided into natural history, which describes natural phenomena (including miracles and all kinds of deviations), and civil history. Poetry is based on imagination. Philosophy is based on reason. It is divided into natural philosophy, divine philosophy (natural theology), and human philosophy (the study of morality and social phenomena).
As a natural philosopher, Bacon sympathized with the atomistic tradition of the ancient Greeks, but did not completely join it. He believed that the elimination of misconceptions and prejudices is the starting point of correct philosophizing.
Bacon believed it was necessary to create the correct method, with the help of which one could gradually ascend from isolated facts to broad generalizations. The highest task of knowledge and all sciences, according to Bacon, is domination over nature and improvement of human life. Bacon considers induction to be the main working method of his logic. In this he sees a guarantee against shortcomings not only in logic, but in all knowledge in general.
Bacon was one of the first to consciously begin to develop scientific method based on observation and understanding of nature. Knowledge becomes power if it is based on the study of natural phenomena and guided by knowledge of its laws. The subject of philosophy should be matter, as well as its various and diverse forms.
Bacon emphasized the importance of natural science, but stood on the point of view of theory duality of truth(then progressive): theology has God as its object, science has nature. It is necessary to distinguish between the spheres of God's competence: God is the creator of the world and man, but only an object of faith. Knowledge does not depend on faith. Philosophy is based on knowledge and experience.
Supporters rationalism, which was Descartes, believed that the main source of reliable knowledge is knowledge. The most prominent representative of the rationalist movement is Rene Descartes, a French philosopher, mathematician, physicist and physiologist. He recognized mathematics as the most perfect science and considered it necessary to build all other sciences on its model. In accordance with this, he assigned the main role in the knowledge of truth not to experience, but to theoretical thinking and reason. He laid the foundations of analytical geometry, gave the concepts of variable quantities and functions, and introduced many algebraic notations.
If Bacon's philosophy is a harbinger of the new, sympathizes with natural science, creates a philosophical justification for it, then in Descartes' philosophy the general foundations of a new theory of light are already laid, in which all the scientific results obtained by that time are not only generalized, but also philosophically developed and evaluated. Therefore, Descartes' philosophy represents a new, integral and rationally based image of the world, corresponding to the current state of natural science and determining the direction of its development. At the same time, it introduces changes in the development of philosophical thinking, a new orientation in philosophy.
IN The doctrine of knowledge Descartes is the founder of rationalism and a supporter of the doctrine of innate ideas. Descartes connected scientific thinking with philosophical principles and sought to put a rational basis under this connection, trying to substantiate the basic initial principles of philosophy. If for Bacon the initial certainty consisted in relying on sensory knowledge and experience, then Descartes, as a rationalist, is not satisfied with this, since he understands that feelings can deceive a person and that one cannot rely on them in any way. He also believed that one should not trust authorities, since the question arises as to where the credibility of authorities comes from. Descartes needs a basis that does not raise any doubt. Descartes considered the basic principles of logic and mathematics to be innate to people and not having an experimental origin.
The most outstanding of his philosophical works are those devoted, like Bacon's, to methodological issues. Descartes believed that in everything one should rely not on faith, but on reliable conclusions, and nothing should be accepted as the final truth. The rules that he adheres to and which he considers the most important were of exceptional importance for the development of philosophy and science of the New Age. They mean that you need to think clearly and distinctly, break down each problem into its constituent elements, methodically move from the known and proven to the unknown and unsaid, and avoid gaps in the logical links of the study.
Descartes sees the first and initial certainty of philosophy in the certainty of consciousness - thinking. Descartes expresses the requirement for thinking with the words: “everything must be doubted” - this is an absolute beginning. Thus, he makes the first condition of philosophy the rejection of all definitions. Cartesian doubt and “rejection of all definitions” does not come from the impossibility of the existence of these definitions. Descartes' principle puts forward doubt not as an end, but as a means.
Descartes raises the question of comprehending certainty in itself, which must be the initial premise and therefore cannot itself rely on other prerequisites. He sought to build scientific knowledge in a systematic form; it had to be built as a single system, whereas previously it was only a collection of random truths. Descartes considered the proposition "absolutely irrefutable" I think, therefore I exist"("cogito ergo sum"). However, self-consciousness as a principle of philosophy has not yet acquired complete autonomy - the truth of the original principle as clear and distinct knowledge is guaranteed by Descartes by the presence of God - an omnipotent being who has invested in man the natural light of reason.
Due to all of the above, Descartes’ rationalistic method, concentrating attention on the activity of the human mind in the process of achieving truth, seems to be the direct opposite of Bacon’s method of empiricism, based on the purely experimental derivation of axioms of knowledge, devoid of mathematical understanding. In general, Descartes unilaterally emphasized the importance of the intellectual factor of methodology. The experience factor was reduced to the role of a practical indicator that reveals the effectiveness of the mental, rational factor. Sensory cognition is necessary in everyday practical life. For theory, intellectual knowledge is much more important, directly proportional to the degree of its mathematical reliability.
This problem is solved by Francis Bacon (1561-1626).
He shows that the old worldview is based on prejudices and idols; identified 4 groups: clan, cave, market, theater.
Human race: innate - they are the most difficult to overcome, almost impossible; they are caused by the imperfection of the human structure. Therefore, a person unconsciously transfers his own properties to the world.
Idols of the cave: caused by the individual characteristics of a person, everyone has their own life experience: upbringing, education, habits, etc.; therefore, he looks at the world as if from the depths of his cave (for example, a policeman who has been working for 40 years).
Idols of the market: they are created by language (speech). Words have multiple meanings and are often misused by people. Consequently, one can argue endlessly and not come to the truth.
Theater idols: blind faith in scientific authority. In science, errors can persist for a long time, if this is expressed by authority, one gives rise to another, the result is “a complete deception”, as in the theater. The goal of philosophy - science - is the well-being of man, the achievement of power over nature.
Bacon's slogan: “Knowledge is power.” But knowledge must be obtained, and for this a method is needed that guarantees the truth - induction - a method of research in which the truth is guaranteed, as a generalization of facts.
Induction is the main method of empiricism - a direction in philosophy and science in which sensory experience is considered the main source of knowledge.
The general motto is: “There is nothing in the mind that was not in the feelings.”
John Locke (1632-1704) continued the line of Bacon, in experience he distinguishes primary and secondary qualities.
Primary: perception of properties such as attraction, shape, hardness: they are objective and quite firmly perceived by us.
Secondary: taste, smell, color, heat, etc.; they are subjective. Knowledge is obtained by processing experience with the mind.
But how can we guarantee the truth of knowledge if there is subjective perception in experience?
George Berkeley (1685-1753) - “the division of qualities into primary and secondary - experience does not speak about this.” Otherwise, you end up with two worlds: as it is and as it seems. But there is only what is perceived, and this is called reality. But I am given only my perceptions, from which I know that they are consistent with the perceptions of other people.
Output: the same perceptions of different people are provided by God. But God is not perceived.
David Hume (1711-1776)
Conclusions: There are two forms of knowledge.
Materialistic – gives accurate knowledge, but describes the unreality of relationships between fields.
Experienced knowledge describes the world, but is not necessary.
Necessity is what we call habits, common sense, and beliefs.
The final conclusion of empiricism: the necessary true knowledge is impossible.
Rene Descartes
The classic foundation of modern philosophy is given by Rene Descartes (1596-1650). "How to achieve true knowledge." Science presupposes law, science studies the world, and the world acts on us spontaneously. How to extract law from the elements? We need to find the necessary criterion. Descartes follows the path of doubt and establishes that one can doubt everything. Doubt is an act of thought, and if I doubt, then I think, and if I think, then I exist. That is, behind any act of doubt there is a thought, and this is undeniable.
Therefore, the state of consciousness expressed by the words cogitoergosum (“I think, therefore I exist”) is original, reliable, not based on anything and cannot be refuted.
Therefore, the criterion of truth is the deeply experienced state of “I think,” only from within which can truth be distinguished from error.
The reason for thinking is thinking itself, i.e. it is a substance - something that exists by virtue of its necessity, does not depend on anything else.
The whole world cannot be reduced to thinking, and if we conditionally separate thinking from the world, then matter will remain (devoid of thinking).
This means that there are two substances in the world - thought and matter. Therefore, cognition is the process of studying oneself (philosophy), and secondly, the study of matter by thinking (science).
The main feature of matter is that it has extension in space. Therefore, what science studies must be presented as a spatially expressed phenomenon that has only physical existence and nothing beyond that.
The scientist must be sure that the images appearing in consciousness are not illusory, but correspond to what exists outside consciousness.
The scientist must control the images, repeat it, cause the expected consequence. To do this, we must assume that the observed (studied) object is devoid of an internal world (soul) and is completely unfolded in space. If a tree has a soul, then it can move its branches without wind, and always in different ways. It is impossible to construct a scientific theory about such an object.
Therefore, science rejects what is beyond its control and studies “physical objects.”
People are not aware of this procedure of denying superphysical reality and over time they get used to considering scientific views on the world as natural and the only correct one. But science is a historical phenomenon and must change as historical conditions change.
For Descartes, the decisive role in knowledge is played by the human mind (thinking). He and his followers founded rationalism - a direction of philosophy and science that considers reason to be the main source of knowledge.
There is nothing in the mind that was not in the senses, except the mind itself.
The main research method is deduction, the essence of which is the movement of thought from general concepts, the truth of which is obvious or proven by a particular conclusion.
By sharply separating matter from thinking, Descartes sharpened the problem of the human body and soul.
Spinoza Benedict (1632-1677). Matter and thought are not two substances, but two attributes (an essential necessary property) of one substance - God or Nature. They interact because they express the same thing, just in different ways.
Then in the end it turns out that God knows himself and the role of man is secondary and it is unclear why people differ from each other.
Leibniz (1646-1716). The most developed science was mechanics. Therefore, the world only seems mechanical, but the spiritual principle is hidden in it.
We can mentally divide any thing until we reach its limit, its center of power. To exist, you need strength.
These centers of force are manads. The whole world consists of them. They have consciousness, but to varying degrees.
Manads do not interact (they are substances), but they are mobile and active. Their movement is coordinated by God and they are in harmony. Therefore, our world is the best of all worlds.
The question arises: what is the meaning of history? Is our knowledge historical? Where does evil come from in the world?
As a result, true knowledge is possible only within the framework of reason. When trying to take into account experience, the criterion of truth is lost.
All philosophy and science of the New Age were marked by the rivalry between rationalism and empiricism.
Philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment(18th century)
In Europe, especially in France, a philosophical and political movement called the Enlightenment is being formed.
Its historical meaning is the era of growing up, i.e. such a stage in the process of becoming a modern person when he can independently and responsibly determine his life. Previously, someone led him through life (God, priest, leader, traditions).
Now a person must stand alone with the world and rely only on his mind.
To help a person become independent, he must be enlightened and given true knowledge.
The Enlightenmentists published 35 volumes of the Encyclopedia, which contained all the knowledge of mankind.
English: Locke, Bubbs.
French: Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, D'Alembert.
German: Lessing, Herder.
The Enlightenmentists sharply criticized religion and the church, because religion and the church contradict their position on the omnipotence of reason, imposing norms, prohibitions, and values that do not stem from the inner essence of reason. Therefore, they do not allow a person to grow up and become independent.
Some of the enlighteners preached atheism (materialists), some - deism (the view according to which God created the world, but does not interfere in its processes).
The Age of Enlightenment is the source of modern concepts of the state and human rights.
A person, by the fact of his birth, has the right to life and freedom.
People are initially characterized by selfishness, the need for self-preservation, and interests.
Therefore, human society is self-destructive. This inevitably leads to a war of all against all.
To neutralize destructive tendencies, a state is needed - it is like a social contract between people about observing the rules of community life that they themselves have established.
The state is governed by law, to which everyone, without exception, obeys. The rule of law is ensured by the division of power into judicial, legislative and executive (author - Montesquieu).
The sovereign (supreme) bearer of power is the people (author - Rousseau)
Began in the XV-XVI centuries. the development of capitalism acquires an intensive character in subsequent times. The development of productive forces exacerbates social contradictions and deepens the conflict between the main struggling classes - the bourgeoisie and the feudal lords. Bourgeois revolutions are taking place in a number of Western European countries. The new bourgeois system gave rise to the need for experimental studies of nature. Science was becoming a serious productive force.
The fundamental changes that took place in social life and in the development of science contributed to a change in people's consciousness. A new period began in the development of philosophy, which is commonly called philosophy of modern times. She began to rely primarily on science. Mechanics occupied a leading position in natural science. Mechanism prevailed and became widespread in philosophy.
The main efforts of thinkers were aimed at collecting, separately describing and classifying objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. Techniques of isolated consideration of natural objects and their decomposition into parts were widely used; the whole was represented as a simple sum of parts, and the part was endowed with the properties of the whole.
The founder of modern philosophy is the English philosopher Francis Bacon. His main work is “New Organon”. He was the first philosopher who set out to create a scientific method based on experimental knowledge. Bacon, having been subjected to sharp criticism of the dominant scholastic concept, makes an attempt to carry out the “great restoration of the sciences.” And although it is noted more than once in his writings that he does not offer “any universal integral theory,” we can rightfully assume that he adhered to the materialist tradition. Bacon recognizes the unconditional existence of nature, its objective character.
Bacon decisively changes the existing attitude towards truth. Truth is determined not by the merit of the subject of science, but by its validity and practical effectiveness. Any area of existence, any phenomenon of nature and social life is equally worthy of study. In his classification of sciences, he gives preference, first of all, to history, poetry and philosophy. Philosophy must serve the cause of conquering the forces of nature, turning it into the “kingdom of man.” Bacon speaks of knowledge as power and draws attention to the need to distinguish between two types of experience - fruitful and luminous. Fruitful experiences are experiences that directly benefit a person. Luminous are those experiences whose purpose is to understand the most significant and deep connections of nature, its laws and properties.
Bacon draws attention to the importance of freeing a person’s thinking from subjective hindrances, from delusions, which he called “idols.” There are idols of the clan, the cave, the market and the theater. Idols of the race are inherent in the human race, they are the result of the limitations of human feelings and mind. The idols of the cave represent the delusions of individual people, due to the specific characteristics of a person. Market idols are misconceptions generated by misuse of words, which are especially common in the market. Theater idols affirm faith in authority. Usually these are false ideas about nature, uncritically borrowed from old philosophical systems. Bacon’s criticism of “idols” had a positive meaning, contributed to the development of natural science and the liberation of public opinion from the spiritual dominance of the church, and called for knowledge to study the causes of phenomena.
Pointing to the deplorable state of science, Bacon said that until now discoveries had been made by chance, not methodically. There would be many more of them if researchers were armed with the right method. Method is the path, the main means of research. Even a lame person walking on the road will overtake a normal person running off-road.
The research method developed by Bacon is an early predecessor of the scientific method. The method was proposed in Bacon's New Organon and was intended to replace the methods that were proposed in Aristotle's Organon almost 2 millennia ago.
The basis of scientific knowledge, according to Bacon, should be induction and experiment.
Induction can be full(perfect) and incomplete. Complete induction means the regular repetition and exhaustibility of any property of an object in the experience under consideration. Inductive generalizations start from the assumption that this will be the case in all similar cases. In this garden, all lilacs are white - a conclusion from annual observations during their flowering period.
Incomplete induction includes generalizations made on the basis of studying not all cases, but only some (conclusion by analogy), because, as a rule, the number of all cases is practically unlimited, and theoretically it is impossible to prove their infinite number: all swans are white for us reliably until we will not see a black individual. This conclusion is always probabilistic.
Trying to create a “true induction,” Bacon looked not only for facts that confirmed a certain conclusion, but also for facts that refuted it. He thus armed natural science with two means of investigation: enumeration and exclusion. Moreover, it is the exceptions that matter most. Using his method, for example, he established that the “form” of heat is the movement of the smallest particles of the body.
So, in his theory of knowledge, Bacon strictly pursued the idea that true knowledge follows from sensory experience. This philosophical position is called empiricism. Bacon was not only its founder, but also the most consistent empiricist.
Another founder of modern philosophy was René Descartes. Following Bacon, Descartes proclaimed the need to create a philosophy that would serve practice. But if Bacon recommended moving in knowledge from the particular to the increasingly general, then Descartes proposed moving from general principles to particular ones in achieving truth, absolutizing deduction.
Descartes considered universal, methodological doubt to be the starting point of his metaphysics. It is necessary to question everything that is taken for granted and that is generally accepted as truth. While doubting everything, a person should not doubt one thing - that he doubts, i.e. thinks, carries out an act of self-awareness. “I think, therefore I exist.”
At the same time, Descartes clearly overestimated the role of reason. He also had a strong theological tradition. He believed that God placed in man the natural light of reason. All clear ideas are generated by God and come from Him, and therefore they are objective.
Descartes retained the fundamental views of medieval thinkers on the concept of substance. Substance is defined as any being in general that does not need anything other than itself for its existence. This includes God and the created world.
The dualistic concept determined the epistemological positions of Descartes. Human cognitive activity is composed of three classes of ideas. Among them are ideas received by people from the outside as a result of their constant contacts with objects and phenomena; ideas formed in our minds from first ideas. (They can be either fantastical or realistic). Finally, innate ideas, originally inherent in spiritual substance, not associated with any experience, are purely rationalistic. In the process of cognition, innate ideas play the most important role.
Descartes develops rationalism: in the act of cognition, the human mind does not need sensitive things, because the truth of knowledge is in the mind itself, the ideas and concepts it comprehends.
Intelligence- the main and only source of knowledge. Descartes believed that mathematical and geometric methods are the only universal method of knowledge. Consequently, research in all sciences, including philosophy, begins with the search for what is self-evident, clear, and does not require sensory materialism and logical proof.
Deduction- the only method of knowledge. We must start with methodological doubt. You can doubt everything except the existence of doubt itself. Doubt is an act of thinking. “I think, therefore I exist.” Descartes is confident that reliable knowledge exists. Descartes believes that it is not thinking that gives rise to the existence of the body, but the existence of thinking is more reliable than the existence of the body and nature. The root cause - God - cannot deceive a person, therefore, knowledge of the sensitive perception of the world is possible.
The challenge is to use cognitive abilities correctly. The truth of knowledge follows from the existence of innate ideas. Innate ideas are not ready-made truths, but predispositions of the mind. Consequently, in knowledge the main role belongs to the mind, and not to sensations. This is a statement of rationalism. The mind will inevitably achieve true knowledge if it proceeds from a reliable method. Based on rationalism, Descartes created doctrine of rationalism.
4 rules:
1) clarity and distinctness of knowledge does not raise any doubts;
2) divide each research question into as many parts as required for better understanding;
3) think in order, starting with simple ones and gradually rising to complex things;
4) completeness of knowledge - nothing essential should be missed.