Discourse on Method, Parts I – IV

“… it is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.”

In Discourse on Method [1637], René Descartes (1596–1650) presents a scientific method and explains how it came about. The Discourse gives us insight into the intellectual climate of his time; although he had dedicated his adult life to research in philosophy, mathematics, and science, the 40-year-old Descartes had not published anything prior to this—largely due to fears of censure.

The cogito, the ideal of clear and distinct ideas, and the mechanistic conception of nature deeply influenced later rationalism (Spinoza, Leibniz), empiricism’s reactions (Locke, Hume), and Kant’s critical philosophy. The work also helped define modern subjectivity, the mind–body problem, and the idea of a unified scientific method, becoming a touchstone in epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of science.

Please read Parts I through IV of Descartes’ Discourse on Method (*.pdf pages 4 – 36.) The reading is a little over 11,000 words and will take an hour or so to read.

Other resources (not required):

Audiobook: Rene Descartes – Discourse on the Method (Full Audiobook). Parts I through IV have a running time of just over 80 minutes.

Video: Descartes’s Theory of Knowledge (Part 1: Discourse on the Method). There is a “typo” around the 3:30 mark video – the commentator says the Discourse was written in Latin, not French. Fact check: the Discourse was first published in French; a Latin translation, Discoursus de method, appeared in 1656–57. Still a good video.

Discourse on the Method | Philopedia – a thorough and detailed overview of the Discourse. If you like deep dives, this article does not disappoint.

Another translation: I came across a copy of Discourse on Method which includes an Interpretive Essay from the translator Richard Kennington.

SparkNotes has an entry for the Discourse – you may find their information useful.

We look forward to seeing you.