I have quite a bit of interest in philosophy.
I read an article praising Descartes as one of the greatest thinkers of all time.
So I decided I want to read some of his works.
On page one of his first meditation, he seems to make such a huge mistake in thinking that I have stopped reading the work there and then. He writes that in the world vice is rewarded more than virtue.
Here Descartes seems to reason like a pure materialist who has not a notion of the great rewards of peace mind and bliss one experiences after a virtuous deed and the complete lack thereof after vice. What kind of success, what kind of reward is material wealth without having peace of mind of the experience of happiness. I think RW Emerson has so nicely described the opposite of Descartes statement and Emerson makes so much more sense in his essay, Compensation
Then he goes on that virtue greatly depends on the fear of God and the belief in an afterlife. How many atheist humanitarians have proven this wrong. I am not an atheist and my own belief in God is strong, but we cannot deny that among the most noble and most virtuous deeds done in this world, some of them are done on pure humanitarian grounds by people without any belief whatsoever in God and in afterlife.
Maybe I should have been a bit more persistent in reading the rest of his work, but I have given up on reading any more words of this so called great philosopher. I did not reach the all famous Je pense, donc je suis, I think, thus I am in his second meditation. Right now I do not feel the need.
I read an article praising Descartes as one of the greatest thinkers of all time.
So I decided I want to read some of his works.
On page one of his first meditation, he seems to make such a huge mistake in thinking that I have stopped reading the work there and then. He writes that in the world vice is rewarded more than virtue.
Here Descartes seems to reason like a pure materialist who has not a notion of the great rewards of peace mind and bliss one experiences after a virtuous deed and the complete lack thereof after vice. What kind of success, what kind of reward is material wealth without having peace of mind of the experience of happiness. I think RW Emerson has so nicely described the opposite of Descartes statement and Emerson makes so much more sense in his essay, Compensation
Then he goes on that virtue greatly depends on the fear of God and the belief in an afterlife. How many atheist humanitarians have proven this wrong. I am not an atheist and my own belief in God is strong, but we cannot deny that among the most noble and most virtuous deeds done in this world, some of them are done on pure humanitarian grounds by people without any belief whatsoever in God and in afterlife.
Maybe I should have been a bit more persistent in reading the rest of his work, but I have given up on reading any more words of this so called great philosopher. I did not reach the all famous Je pense, donc je suis, I think, thus I am in his second meditation. Right now I do not feel the need.
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