Pizhuhish nāmah-i intiqādī-i mutūn va barnāmah hā-yi ̒ulūm-i insāni (Critical Studies in Texts & Programs of Human Sciences)

A Reflection on the Establishment of Modern Philosophy Based on “Meditations on First Philosophy”

Document Type : Promotional

Author

Mohammadreza Hedayati

Ph.D. Candidate of Philosophy (Modern Era), Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30465/crtls.2024.50360.2885
Abstract
 
René Descartes is generally considered the first modern philosopher. In Descartes' time, a profound and pervasive skepticism was prevalent, and the newly emerging science lacked a philosophical foundation. What places Descartes in the position of founding modern philosophy is his attention to the fundamental crisis of knowledge for humankind: If humans are finite beings and the universe is infinite, how can humans attain knowledge of anything and be certain of its truth (correspondence)? Descartes' confrontation with this fundamental crisis and his determination to find a firm and stable basis for knowledge led to the formation of a new conception of truth and a new foundation for science. Descartes attempts, through an introspective journey within his own thoughts, by doubting everything possible, even the most self-evident matters, to reach an indubitable foundation for knowledge. Descartes completes this endeavor by narrating his introspective journey in the first person in his “Meditations”.

Keywords

Modern Philosophy
Philosophical Doubt
Certainty
Human Finitude
Foundation of Science
Reasonableness of the Universe

Subjects

Al-Farabi (1986), The Book of Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City, Beirut: Dar al-Mashreq. [in Persian]
Descartes, Rene (1376), Descartes’ Philosophy, Manouchehr Sanei Darabeidi, 1st Edition, Tehran: Mahdi International Publishing. [in Persian]
Descartes, Rene (1381), Meditations on First Philosophy, Ahmad Ahmadi, 6th Edition, Tehran: Samt. [in Persian]
Descartes, René (1384), Meditations, Objections, and Replies, Ali Afzali, 3rd Edition, Tehran: Scientific and Cultural (Elmi va Farhangi) Publishing Company. [in Persian]
Ibn Sina (1393), Al-Ishaarat wa al-Tanbihat, vol. 3, 2nd Edition, Qom: Nashr al-Balagha. [in Persian]
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (1896), Lectures on the History of Philosophy, E. S. Haldane, Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press.
Motahari, Morteza (2012), “Explanation”, on: The Principles of Philosophy and the Method of Realism, Mohammad Hossein Tabatabaei, 17th Edition, Tehran: Sadra. [in Persian]
Sabzevari, Mullahadi (1390), Sharh al-Manzoomhe fi al-Mantiq wa al-Hikmah, Tehran: Bidar. [in Persian]
Zia Shahabi, Parviz (2012), A Phenomenological Introduction to Descartes' Philosophy, 2nd Edition.
 

  • Receive Date 31 July 2024
  • Revise Date 13 October 2024
  • Accept Date 03 November 2024

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