Cartesianism

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René Descartes in a portrait by Frans Hals , 1648
Principia philosophiae , 1685

The term Cartesianism (also Cartesianism ; from Cartesius , Latin for (René) Descartes) is used for both

  • René Descartes ' philosophy ( Cartesianism in the narrower sense )
  • the philosophy of his followers ( Cartesianism in the broader sense )
  • Descartes' philosophy as well as that of his followers.

In addition, one speaks of Cartesianism in relation to individual characteristic positions:

  • the doctrine of the dualism of body / body on the one hand and soul / spirit on the other;
  • the epistemological position that knowledge should only be based on indubitable insights.

As principles of Cartesianism in the broadest sense are self-certainty of self-awareness (see Cogito ergo sum ), clarity and precision as the criterion of truth , matter as space filling , dualism , corpuscular , methodical doubt , rationalism and appreciation of mathematics .

The better-known Cartesians are: Henricus Renerius , Henricus Regius , Johannes de Raey , Adriaan Heerebord , Abraham Heidanus , Claude Clerselier , Antoine Arnauld , Pierre Nicole , François Fénelon , Balthasar Bekker , Johann Sturm , Tobias Andreae , Antoine Legrand , Johannes Clauberg , Géraud de Cordemoy , many oratorians and Jansenists , partly Marin Mersenne , Blaise Pascal , Pierre Poiret , Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus .

Opponents were especially Thomas Hobbes , Pierre Gassendi and Friedrich Christoph Oetinger . More recently, Richard Rorty has dealt critically with Descartes in his monograph "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" from 1979. Rorty rejects his epistemological project with its fundamentalist orientation within the framework of the pragmatism of Dewey's character, which he himself advocates .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Walter Brugger / Harald Schöndorf (ed.): Philosophical dictionary. Alber, Freiburg i. Br .; Munich 2010: Cartesianism.
  2. ↑ Cf. Brugger, Walter / Harald Schöndorf (ed.): Philosophical dictionary. Alber, Freiburg i. Br .; Munich 2010: Cartesianism.
  3. ↑ Halder, Alois: Philosophical Dictionary. New edition. Herder, Freiburg i. Br. U. a. 2008: Cartesianism.
  4. ↑ Hügli, Anton; Poul Lübcke (ed.): Philosophielexikon. 5th edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek, 2003: Cartesianism.

literature

  • Gessmann, Martin (Hrsg.): Philosophical dictionary. 23rd edition. Kröner, Stuttgart, 2009: Cartesianism. (mwN)

Web links

Wiktionary: Cartesianism  - explanations of meanings, word origins , synonyms, translations