Principia philosophiae
The Principia philosophiae (nlat: The principles of philosophy) is one of the main works by René Descartes . It appeared in 1644. The book contains a systematic summary of all previous metaphysics, cosmology and physics of Descartes.
content
First part: On the principles of human knowledge
The first part summarizes again in a not so analytical form what had previously been examined and established in more detail in Discours (1637) and in Meditationes (1614), namely the doctrine of universal doubt and its abolition in self-certainty, the fundamental Distinction between consciousness and extended thing, the introduction of God as the guarantor for the sufficiency of human knowledge beyond doubt, the doctrine of error and prejudice and the postulate of the evidence of all truth. Descartes now has the principles on which he can also base cosmology , physics and all other sciences.
Second part: On the principles of physical things
The second part begins with a proof of the factual existence of material, physical objects. The entire material world of the body is determined for Descartes by the three-dimensional expansion of the body, the physics related to it is geometry turned into concrete for him. The exclusively geometrical-mathematical character of the laws and principles of order that prevail in the material, physical cosmos is an absolutely binding basic requirement for Cartesian physics and cosmology. With this, Descartes practically missed medieval scholastic physics with its apparatus of "substantial forms" and "real qualities".
Third part: From the visible world
The third part is about the cosmology and astronomy of Descartes. He differentiates between three types of matter according to their degree of fineness and mobility and from this he develops his famous theory of "eddies": The entire universe is a tension structure of matter vortices, each with a star in the center. Descartes tries to circumvent the point of movement of the earth around the sun, which is offensive for the Church, by referring to the relativity of movement. With his doctrine of the vortices of matter, Descartes was way ahead of his time. Unfortunately, this idea has largely been forgotten due to Newton's rigorous intervention . Even the new edition of the idea by Kant and Laplace could not change that.
Fourth part: About the earth
The fourth part deals with physics in a comprehensive sense using specific questions. On the basis of everything that has been said so far, Descartes discussed problems of gravity and magnetism as well as numerous problems from the fields of chemistry , meteorology , geography and physiology and tried to find solutions.
A fifth and sixth part about plants and animals as well as man was planned according to Descartes own statements, but was no longer carried out.
Impact history
Although the work in today's reception mostly lags behind the Discours , the Meditationes and the Regulae , it was extraordinarily important in terms of its impact and history, especially in the second half of the 17th century, when it was considered Descartes' most important work.
Web links
- The "Prinzipia philosophiae" as full text at Zeno.org in German translation by Julius von Kirchmann, Philosophical Library.