Philosophy of the Modern Age and the Enlightenment

The Philosophy of Spirit and Matter of René Descartes

René Descartes (1596—1650) was a French philosopher, physicist, physiologist, and mathematician, known for introducing a new coordinate system in geometry, now called the "Cartesian" system. He was the author of the method of radical doubt in philosophy. His works, originally written in Latin, were signed under the Latinized name "Cartesius," from which the term Cartesianism—the doctrine of Descartes and his numerous followers—originates.

Descartes’ main philosophical work, Discourse on the Method (its full title: Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences), was published in 1637, notably in French, not in Latin. Later, his Principles of Philosophy (1644) was published, wherein Descartes formulated the central tenets of his philosophy:

• God created the world and the laws of nature, and afterward, the universe operates as a self-sustaining mechanism. This view aligns with the Faustian concept of God as the great mechanic, turning the divine world into something resembling a perpetuum mobile (perpetual motion machine);
• There is nothing in the world except various forms of moving matter, and all natural phenomena result from the interaction of elementary particles that compose matter;
• Mathematics will always serve as the model for all other sciences and as a universal method for understanding nature.

Descartes believed that the human mind was capable of comprehending the world, but it required proper application, i.e., a method. Much of his work was devoted to developing this new method:

• Descartes sought to arm science with a precise method grounded in doubt, which forbids accepting any proposition without verification and rational justification;
• He proposed the principle of rationalist deduction, deriving truths from already reliably known data;
• The one proposition that, according to Descartes, is beyond doubt is the very fact of doubt itself, thus leading to the certainty of the famous dictum: Cogito, ergo sum—"I think, therefore I am." "I think" (I doubt) forms the essence of Cartesianism, which underpins the entirety of European culture, profoundly rooted in Christian thought.

A strong religious faith, grounded in insight, revelation, and sudden deep flashes of understanding, can exist without the critical process of inquiry. However, critical knowledge presupposes a faith in its methods leading to the intended goal—not to new images, but to something real.

As the founder of rationalism, Descartes emphasized the certainty of method, which lay in deduction, where new knowledge emerges from the application of reason. He prioritized reason above all, reducing the role of experience to merely verifying conclusions.

The advancements in natural sciences prompted a new perspective on the knowledge of Descartes’ era. Following tradition, Descartes presented them in the form of a tree:

• Morality as the crown;
• Mechanics and medicine as the branches;
• Physics as the trunk;
• Metaphysics as the root system, sustaining the great growth of culture.

All sciences are important and necessary for humanity to increase its power and mastery over nature. This embodies the true spirit of the modern age.

The spiritual and creative force did not arise with the Reformation but followed it. Its true product was free science. For Martin Luther, learning was entirely the "handmaiden of theology," meaning knowledge served to justify faith, not to refute it. Now, however, the critical force of urban thought had grown so strong that it no longer confirmed faith but tested and challenged it. The first object of this intellectual activity became the truths of faith, apprehended by reason rather than the heart, which distinguishes early scholasticism from the true philosophy of the Baroque.

Within Baroque philosophy, Western natural science became a fully independent domain. Without a doubt, science was no longer the servant of theology but the vehicle of a technical will to power. Hence, its mathematical and experimental focus, by its very nature, was practical mechanics. Faustian science was, above all, technology and technique, with theory secondary, thus reflecting the same lifespan as Faustian humanity itself.

The critical thinking (science) of every culture possesses its essential foundations and mechanical quantities, which it uses to compare the rational deity with the surrounding world.

Similarly, critical thinking divides the image of the soul into parts, reaching a completely predictable conclusion, where the physics of the inner world is called "systematic psychology," which discovers material particles within the soul:

• Ancient sciences revealed the separate elements of the soul (reason, anger, desire);
• Magical sciences focused on soul-states (fear, ecstasy);
• Faustian sciences emphasized soul-forces (thought, feeling, will).

For the Faustian soul, the unity of force, will, and direction is characteristic, considered from the perspective of the primal symbol of infinity. This is nothing less than a colossal activity aimed outward, something inherent to the greatest figures of this culture.

Descartes’ primary contribution to modern philosophy was the architecture of rationalism as a universal method of knowledge, with the ultimate goal being the mastery of humanity over the forces of nature.

Pure contemplation requires no experiment, but the Faustian symbol of the machine, from the 12th century onward, drove people to create mechanical constructions, making the perpetuum mobile a truly Promethean idea of the Western European spirit, which could no longer function without experiment. Experimentation, as Goethe said, becomes a means of "forcing" nature’s confessions: she screams, "cries out," and gradually, through torture, "gives up" her secrets. Ancient (contemplative) thinking about nature did not require experiment because it sought not to dominate but to achieve balance, harmony between the microcosm and macrocosm.

Nature never “avenges” itself on humankind for contemplative knowledge. On the contrary, nature resembles a woman taken by force—she will always find a way to "repay," if not us, then our children or grandchildren. Every culture returns to nature, yet this is not a nature merely experienced but one proven, born of reason, and accessible only to it. For the peasant, such a nature does not exist at all.

Rationalism signifies faith solely in the results of critical understanding, that is, in "reason." When, in earlier times, they said credo quia absurdum (I believe because it is absurd), there was confidence that the world, nature, is composed of both that which can be understood and that which defies comprehension, together. The intellect may understand nature as deeply as God permits.

For Descartes, reason critically evaluates experimental data, drawing from it the hidden secrets and true laws, and then formulates scientific maxims through the language of mathematics. Mathematics here functions not as a science but as the language of science, without which no science is possible. The power of reason is limited only by the imperfection of the human being in comparison to God. Spengler calls this "the causal connection in the form of nature, which cannot be changed by further reflection" truth. It is through truth that humanity gains power over mystery itself. Therefore, "theory" demands the gift of contemplation, which is not granted to everyone. Theory, in its primordial sense, is a worldview, a "view of the world," whether pursued through observation, analogy, or calculation. Hence:

• the theorist is a critical visionary,
• the technician a priest,
• and the inventor a prophet.

Descartes' doctrine of knowledge became the cornerstone of rationalism. Another important feature of Descartes' philosophy was his mechanism. The great rationalist myth of energy and mass is simultaneously a colossal working hypothesis. It painted a picture of the world that could be practically applied. Everything fateful here is "mechanized" in the form of evolution, development, or progress. The very concept of a working hypothesis presupposes that the Faustian worldview is dynamically structured, though in other cultures this concept holds no meaning.

A defining characteristic of Faustian man is the idea that always finds practical application. The Gothic myth gives way to the impact and power of long-range effects, of gravity, the speed of light, and, finally, "electricity"—a physical monotheism. Faustian materialism, in which the technical worldview reached its peak, stands apart. Matter, according to the philosopher, consists of elementary parts, and the local mechanical interactions of these parts create all natural phenomena.

Attempts to know the entire world experimentally as an exact, mechanically calculated system, down to the deepest causal links, and express it in numbers so that humanity can master it—this is what distinguishes this return to nature from any other. Both Confucius and Buddha, as well as Socrates, believed that knowledge is a good. However, Bacon's phrase "knowledge is power" has meaning only within European-American civilization. Such a return to nature signifies a rejection of all forces standing between practical reason (intellectuals) and nature.

Descartes was also characterized by skepticism and criticism of the preceding scholastic tradition. He vigorously opposed Aristotle's syllogism as a source of new knowledge, much like Bacon before him, considering the syllogism not a tool for discovering new facts but merely a means of presenting known truths obtained by other paths.

During Descartes' lifetime, his major works were included in the Index of Prohibited Books by the Roman Catholic Church, and Louis XIV even issued a decree banning the teaching of Cartesian philosophy in all educational institutions of the kingdom. Despite such severe prohibitions, Descartes' philosophy quickly found adherents and spurred the development of Cartesianism in other European countries—in the Netherlands, his follower was Spinoza, and in Germany, Leibniz.

Thus, while philosophy once served as the handmaiden of religion, there now arises the sense that philosophy aspires to be a science—a critique of knowledge, of nature, of values. To this day, it remains a somewhat altered dogmatics (any philosophical system is, so to speak, woven from verified first principles), a faith in knowledge that desires to become pure knowledge. Ultimately, it all comes down to the fact that where once God spoke, now "force" speaks, and instead of eternity, we hear of the "law of conservation of energy." One English bishop even believed it possible to derive both electrical force and the power of prayer from the same system of nature. This is pure faith in force and matter, even if the words "God" and "world" are still used.