SPUP Graduate School

PHILOSOPHICAL
BASES IN
NURSING
2ND TRIMESTER AY 2020-2021
 TOPIC:
René Descartes

BY:
CZERWIN S. JUALES,DPA,MAN RN
 René Descartes
• A French Mathematician, scientist and
Philosopher
• He was one of the first to abandon Scholastic
Aristotelianism, because he formulated the
first modern version of mind-body dualism,
from which stems the mind-body problem, and
because he promoted the development of a
new science grounded in observation and
experiment.
• He has been called the Father of Modern
Philosophy.
 René Descartes
• Applying an original system of methodical
doubt, he dismissed apparent knowledge
derived from authority, the senses,
and reason and erected new epistemic
foundations on the basis of the intuition that,

When he is thinking, he exists; this he

expressed in the dictum “I think, therefore I
am” (best known in its Latin formulation, “
Cogito, ergo sum,” though originally written
in French, “Je pense, donc je suis”).
 René Descartes
• Applying an original system of methodical
doubt, he dismissed apparent knowledge
derived from authority, the senses,
and reason and erected new epistemic
foundations on the basis of the intuition that,

When he is thinking, he exists; this he

expressed in the dictum “I think, therefore I
am” (best known in its Latin formulation, “
Cogito, ergo sum,” though originally written
in French, “Je pense, donc je suis”).
 René Descartes
• Philosophy: In his writings, Discourse laid the
foundations for both his epistemology and
metaphysics, his Meditations would
revolutionize philosophical thought and
introduce a new school of thought:
RATIONALISM. In rationalism, knowledge of
the world is acquired through the use of
reason, not based on the unreliability of the
senses.
 René Descartes
• In his Discourse, he wrote of his own search
where he had to “reject as absolutely false
everything as to which I could imagine the
least ground of doubt”. In this search, one
must put all of one's beliefs to a rigorous test
and reject anything that fails this examination.
 René Descartes
• In his Meditations, Descartes spoke of the
need to reject experience and reliance on the
senses. To him, true knowledge or truth
requires certainty; there can be no room for
doubt. An individual must not trust what is
seen or experienced, for one’s senses can be
deceiving. A stick looks bent when half-
submerged in water.
René Descartes
Death & Legacy:
In 1649 CE at the request of Queen
Christina of Sweden, Descartes moved to
Stockholm to teach her philosophy.
Unfortunately, the queen was an early riser
which was contrary to Descartes who
preferred to sleep late - a practice he had
maintained since his days at the College of
de Le Fleche. Rising at 5:00 in the morning
for the lessons (three times a week) proved
fatal, for he caught pneumonia and died on
11 February 1650 CE.
Thank you very much!