Rene Descartes is arguably the father of modern philosophy; he is the one philosopher who is heralded for the introduction of algebra and the connection that lay between algebra and the scholarly subject of geometry. His most famous artwork, however, is “Meditations on first philosophy”. This is a short work that was first published in 1641 in the French language called Meditationes de Prima. In work, he provides a truth-seeking foundation for the possibilities presented by science.
Skepticism is one tool that Descartes uses to offer the underlying issues of education and knowledge. Personally, he is not a skeptic but uses this to raise the curiosity of the reader to try and find out the possibilities that scientific knowledge offers. He asks questions such as: how true is the fact that the world revolves in a solar system. This skeptic approach leaves the reader with no alternative but to undertake studies to determine the truth behind the analogy of the solar system. There developed a number of critics of his works, especially his skeptic approach, and in a way, he achieved his objective of adding unto knowledge as thereafter in an attempt to prove him wrong, the critics set about running researched and writing books of concepts determining the truth behind the scientific knowledge. Such great critics of Descartes’s works included theologians and fellow philosophers key among them being Arnauld, Hobbes, and Caterus, all of whom wrote back books trying to determine the truth behind the allegations that Descartes had leveled against their fields of specialization.
In coming up with most of his philosophies, Descartes employed lots of rationalism. Rationalism, as per his definition, is any view that appeals to reason and, more specifically, as being the spring of knowledge or an explanation. Descartes believed that reason has preference over other ways of acquiring knowledge. He, therefore, used this to come up with lots of explanations, especially on political enlighten, as he emphasized on political reasoning. Politics is currently just a pile of rational reasoning upon which a state is governed. Parliaments all over the world are constituted of law makers, the law in its earnest is a pile of rational ideas that are well spelt out and aimed at guiding the actions that should be taken given any eventuality. This was one of the ideas that Descartes forged for.
Rational choice theory was one of the theories that he put forward and this is a theory that has found lots of relevance in several spheres of life politics and microeconomics today. In politics and microeconomics the theory dictates that human nature calls for more rather than less of good it is meant to help model both social and economic behavior. It is this philosophy that democracy and free market economies are pegged on. Democracy calls for the free and fair election of legislators and other people who are to occupy positions of leadership. In doing this, the electorate normally looks for more good in the individuals to be elected and the people perceived to be the best in character and trait with more good than others normally get elected. In a nut shell the community wants more of the good. The good is again relative and subject to determination by the populace. In one way or the other, the populace always has a way of determining that individual with averagely more good in his or her traits that the rest of the contenders. These finally get elected into office through a majority vote.
In the subject of micro economics, rational choice refers to the act of searching an affordable way to complete a task with no regard to value of achieved goal. In several economies what would benefit a majority of the people has often been considered at the expense of the cost of its application. Financé windows that let a currency lose value while trade is boosted and the prices of commodities fall drastically is a common practice in the microeconomics discourse.
In his definition, the term ration is not as it is in dictionaries and has been used by several people in the academic spheres. To most people, rational is synonymous to “sane” or “sound” in a thoughtful or clear minded manner. Descartes in his philosophy adopts a narrower perspective of the term rational. According to him, the term refers to the act of balancing one’s actions between cost and gain. The choice of the decision arrived at should be that which benefits a majority.
Most of the ideas that Descartes put forward to offer explanations to most of the occurrences around the daily human lives were built upon some of his mentors, people that he largely borrowed their ideas. Such a person that he quoted in most of his books and used lots of his ideas was Plato. Plato ascribed to the school of thought that believed in rational thinking as well. He put forward most of his philosophical reasoning in the course and effect formula and this is a style that was so adversely adorned by Descartes. Descartes therefore used this to provide reasoning in areas that were largely ignored such as education. This therefore justifies the topic that reads that he was the Pluto of the caves. “The caves” referring to the dark and ignored discourses that he undertook to offer explanations in.