To learn more about what is and is not considered philosophy for the purposes of this subreddit, see our FAQ. For the modern reader, it is a thought-provoking and interesting read./r/philosophy Rules and Guidelines Hover or Tap Each Rule for Full Details Posting Rules Meditations on First Philosophy follows the tradition of St Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises. This forms the root of his skepticism and his ideas on the mind/body divide, the existence of God and human perception.

In the First Meditation, Descartes provides bizarre examples of our thoughts and questions whether we can assume that reality in any way resembles these. Here, the Greek philosopher posited that all knowledge comes via the senses, hence the outside world is but a mirror image of our inner thoughts. In Meditations, Descartes seeks to go beyond Aristotle's philosophy which dominated Western thinking till then. Descartes' Meditations follows a new yet cautious approach which would not be in direct confrontation with the powerful Catholic Church. Galileo's fate was dreaded by all pioneering philosophers. It is important to remember that Rene Descartes was writing at a time of great scientific discoveries which were in conflict with the Church. The book is designed as a series of meditations that took place over six days in his life, and in each one, he talks about “yesterday's meditation.”

In each one, Descartes abandons all belief in things that are not absolutely certain and then tries to replace these beliefs with those that are more certain. The work essentially consists of six separate meditations. The treatise was translated into French in 1647. The original Latin title also had the subtitle: In Which the Existence of God and the Immortality of the Soul are Demonstrated. Meditations on First Philosophy was first published in 1641. His most famous maxim, “I think, therefore I am” became the guiding principle of modern Western thought. He was a teacher and counselor to several heads of state in Europe and guided them in their political and ethical actions.

He had a profound impact on the age he lived in and also on future generations. He also wrote extensively on subjects as diverse as music, the search for truth, geometry, discourse as a method of scientific investigation, philosophy, biology and psychology. His theories also led to the emancipation of humanity from the doctrine that the Church is the sole authority over Man and led to a more autonomous idea of the human condition. He is considered the Father of Modern Western Philosophy. This great sixteenth century thinker also gave us theories on mind-body dualism and the concept of ethics as the highest form of science. The foundations of modern skepticism and objective thinking are thought to be rooted in the philosophy of Rene Descartes, the French mathematician, philosopher and writer.

Meditation of philosophy rene descartes