The Great Philosophers EP04 ⟩ “Bernard Williams on Descartes”
Details
Join us for a revelatory examination of René Descartes’ incalculable philosophical legacy with Bryan Magee and Bernard Williams. Williams is famous (behold his SEP page) for his critique of utilitarianism, his advocacy for internalism regarding reasons, and his emphasis on the roles of authenticity and integrity in ethical discourse. He is also a distinguished authority on Descartes (along with Wittgenstein, Nietzsche, Aristotle, and Plato), and a friend and mentor to Martha Nussbaum, who presented on Aristotle in our last episode.
Together with this pair of old school chums, we’ll explore the ways in which Descartes’ radical method reshaped European philosophy and consider its significance in modern thought and culture.
Are You a Cartesian? Reflections from Jeff Foxworthy
- Do you like dumping all your crap and then vetting every little item one-by-one before you take it back? You just might be a Cartesian.
- Do you sometimes view reality through the lens of coordinate geometry? Thank Descartes.
- Are you intrigued by the brain-in-a-vat (VR, matrix) hypothesis? It’s a Cartesian thought experiment.
- Do you support fallibilism and acknowledge the gap between cognition and reality? Descartes again.
- Do you seek absolute certainty before accepting beliefs? Classic Cartesian skepticism.
A New Row for Your Philosophical History Diagram
Plato vs Aristotle is kinda like Descartes vs Locke:
- Plato’s metaphysical Forms and Descartes’ methodological skepticism share a focus on certainty beyond sensory experience.
- Aristotle’s empirical approach and Locke’s empiricism emphasize knowledge derived from sensory data.
Descartes and Plato Distinguished
- Unlike Plato’s direct apprehension of Forms, Descartes’ method starts with doubt to establish certainties, including God’s existence.
- According to F. H. Bradley, what distinguishes metaphysics from other studies is that metaphysical propositions alone are self-reinstating. Descartes’ cogito (“I think, therefore I am”) is the most famous example of this: deny that you think, and in so doing you think; deny that you exist, and the very fact gives proof of your existence.
Descartes’ Dualism
- Descartes accepted the mechanical-geometrical view of the natural universe and constructed his doctrine of soul as a substance as a reaction to the already accepted doctrine. The result: two heterogeneous substances, and a whole lot of trouble for his descendants.
Cartesian Mathematics
- Descartes’ invention of analytic geometry is the greatest achievement in mathematical history.
Descartes’ Life and Legacy
- The most tender and interesting parts of our discussion will be Descartes’ personal journey and how his solitary intellectual pursuits led to profound philosophical insights and made the romantic, punk, and goth movements possible.
Join us as we once again sit at the feet of the Majestic Magee as he transmutes the insights of his esteemed colleague into electrifying crystalline morsels that will lift your spirits and inspire you to clean house for a refreshed New Year.
METHOD
Please watch the episode before the event. We will then replay a few short clips during the event to refresh our memories for debate and discussion. A new high-def version of this episode with vastly improved audio can be found here:
Study materials for all events, past and present, including amazingly insightful tables, lists, summaries, articles, and tons of downloadable resources … such as the book version of this series (hint: purple icon in the “THORR Media Vault”) can be found here:
OUR CURRENT SERIES
Bryan Magee’s The Great Philosophers (1987) is a series of unparalleled philosophical dialogues. In them, the world’s greatest philosophical interlocutor interrogates the greatest philosophers of his day about the greatest philosophers of all time … in chronological order:
- Myles Burnyeat on Plato
- Martha Nussbaum on Aristotle
- Anthony Kenny on Medieval Philosophy
- Bernard Williams on Descartes
- Anthony Quinton on Spinoza and Leibniz
- Michael R. Ayers on Locke and Berkeley
- John Passmore on Hume
- Geoffrey Warnock on Kant
- Peter Singer on Hegel and Marx
- Frederick Copleston on Schopenhauer
- J. P. Stern on Nietzsche
- Hubert Dreyfus on Husserl, Heidegger and Modern Existentialism
- Sidney Morgenbesser on The American Pragmatists
- A. J. Ayer on Frege, Russell and Modern Logic
- John Searle on Wittgenstein