Thesis ID: CBB001561851

Descartes as Faust: Dissimulation and Descartes as an Early-Modern Scientist (2003)

unapi

Hynes, Darren (Author)


University of Western Ontario (Canada)
Lennon, Thomas M.


Publication Date: 2003
Edition Details: Advisor: Lennon, Thomas M.
Physical Details: 337 pp.
Language: English

In this dissertation I deal with a particular problem in the historiography of science: the image of Descartes as an early modern scientist. For many, this entails seeing Descartes as a materialist and atheist, who inserted God and faith into his philosophy only to slip it past the authorities. This means that, in reality, Descartes adhered exclusively to the first rule of his method-to give credence only to reason-and that, consequently, he rejected the claims of religion. Any professions of faith found in his work are, therefore, a sham. This is known as the dissimulation hypothesis. I trace the history of this image of Descartes as dissimulator in its most prominent twentieth-century manifestations, beginning with French philosophy at the turn of the century, then going through the Anglo-American discussion of the issue, up to the place of this image in current Straussian political philosophy (the strong version of dissimulation), and in the latest biographical literature. By means of an exhaustive survey of the central philosophical problems found in the primary and secondary sources, I show that while Descartes was careful about his manner of self-presentation in both his life and his work, the strong version of dissimulation adopted by the esoteric Straussian School, which sees Descartes primarily as an atheist, is deeply flawed. I thus reject the dissimulation hypothesis, as well as the image of Descartes as an early-modern scientist (prominent in Stephen Gaukroger's intellectual biography), and suggest that Richard Watson's popular _Cogito Ergo Sum: A Life of Ren Descartes _, although occasionally going too far in its skepticism, points the way to a more complex and historically accurate intentional portrait of Descartes. I argue that this more complex picture, which is beginning to receive increased attention in the literature, ought to replace the dissimulating Descartes in our research. Rather than being an early-modern scientist, Descartes is more properly seen as a Renaissance natural philosopher, who was cautious about the way he presented himself and his ideas. With this complex intentional portrait in mind, I examine how Descartes dealt with the charges of dissimulation, secret skepticism, and atheism that were leveled at him in the latter part of his life. Descartes, I argue, saw faith, reason, and science as compatible, as is shown by his attitude towards Copernicanism. I conclude with a summary of the implications of the Faustian Descartes for our understanding of the modern world. I also suggest a way of understanding the Straussian interpretation, and Straussianism in general, as an elaborate conspiracy theory designed to further radically conservative political ends.

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Description Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 65/11 (2005): 4228. UMI pub. no. NQ96688.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001561851/

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Authors & Contributors
Gaukroger, Stephen W.
Baldassarri, Fabrizio
Wojcik, Jan W.
Vidal, Ferdnando
Sutton, John R.
Strazzoni, Andrea
Concepts
Natural philosophy
Science and religion
Philosophy
Religious beliefs
Mechanism; mechanical philosophy
Theology
Time Periods
17th century
Renaissance
18th century
20th century
19th century
16th century
Places
Europe
France
Scotland
Italy
Great Britain
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