January 10, 2010 – Jeff Bruns
Descartes – Meditations on First Philosophy

Reactions:
Appreciate the more, relaxed style to draw in the reader
Notice the “6 day” approach that was modeled after the 6 days of creation and possibly other philosophers
Juxtaposition of the philosophical vs. the theological
Current philosophy reasons God out of logic, math, science while Descartes’ goal was to prove the existence of God

Was Descartes really trying to prove the existence of God?
Introduction states that Descartes’ goal was to convince, but also to invite you into the the thinking process and understanding of the world.  He was acknowledging God, yet adding a more rational thought to sciences, removing the fantastic and mythological.  Rationalism expels mystery and mythical from science.

Why was Descartes proving that we existed?
He was removing everything else to get to the foundation and remove anything else that  cannot be proven.  The foundation is that he exists and the meditations build on each other.

Meditation 1 – Remove anything we can doubt:  senses, sanity, physics, medicine.  We can’t trust our senses because we cannot tell dreams from reality.  He transitions to God  when he says God would not deceive us by his very nature.

Meditation 2 – The fact that I doubt, proves that I exist.   So, what am I?  I am a thing that thinks.
The wax example shows we know what wax is because of our intellect, not because of our senses because the data that our senses experience can change.  But, it is still wax.  A person is not defined by our physical body (arms, legs, head), but by what we think.  A person is defined by what we think.

The mind is more easily known than the body.

Mediation 3 – Types of thoughts:  Innate, adventitious, or invented by me.  Innate ideas are and have always been within us, fictitious or invented ideas come from our imagination, and Adventitious ideas come from experiences of the world. He argues that the idea of God is Innate and placed in us by God and he rejected the possibility that the idea of God is Invented or Adventitious.

The formal reality of anything it its own intrinsic reality, while the objective reality if an idea of an idea is a function of  its representational content. (from book notes)

Meditation 4 – Is humanism creeping in with Descartes?  The will is the part the makes the mistakes.  Although the mind can understand the truth.

Conclusion:
What role does philosophy play in our everyday lives?  It can lead us to be open minded and consider that there could be new information that you have not considered.

How does reading Descartes and learning this process of doubting help us when we evaluate anything?  A class in logic would further refine this skill.

When considering imagination, there is a parallel to the end of the Chronicles of Narnia when the believers and dwarfs were in the shed.  The believers could leave to enter heaven, but the dwarfs could not see heaven or the door.

Cato the Elder

• not too impressive as a character (Pat)
• impressive as a father (Pat) “Cato’s devotion to his family led him to teach his son himself, thus educating his family as well as the state.” [introduction, page 5]
• was a great orator “developed and equipped himself with an eloquent style of speech as if it were a second body—a tool that is virtually indispensable of a man is to avoid a life of obscurity and failure.” [1]
• compare with Cato the Younger, who had some of the same character traits.
• he was “censor”

Caesar

• greedy, used money to buy power and influence
• military strategist, confident, winsome
• the kind of leader you want to follow
• better to suffer death once than always life in fear of it
• how closely did he follow divination (he laughed off the word to “beware the ides of March”)
• compare/contrast with George Washington

Impact of Caesar, God at work

• he stabalizes Rome: ends the Republic and institutes Imperial Rome, people have less power, Rome becomes great.
• all the ingredients for getting the gospel out are in place–the gospel moves West
• safety for the travelers throughout the western world
• why did Rome fall? people were comfortable/complacent, hard to control so much land. For an interesting take on this, see Early Middle Ages by Philip Daileader.

Preparation (sent before the discussion)

“I came, I saw, I ate” … recently heard @ previous book club about
Wendy’s chocolate chip brownies.

Don’t miss the fun this Friday as we examine the lives of two notable
Roman dudes.

Please prepare for the evening by:

1.  Writing out 5-6 trivia questions and the answers on 3″x5″ note
cards (or small pieces of paper similar to a 3″x5″ note card).
Questions can be from either story.  They can be about people,
places, quotes, or events.  Please write the question on one side and
the answer on the other.  Please use one card per question, so you should end up with 5-6 note cards – question on one side, answer on the other.
2.  Bring a prize or two for our trivia game.  Prizes should not be
purchased, but should be old, less than stellar stuff that you would
like to donate to someone else’s household.  (We will be playing the
game “Greed”)
3.  Meditate on the following scriptures:
Daniel 2 – story of when Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream – key verse – Daniel 2:21
He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.

John 19:1-16 – when Jesus was before Pilate – key verse John 19:11
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

Romans 13:1-7 – key verse Romans 13:1
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
See you soon.