Our group was assigned the third discourse of Rene Decartes' Discourse on Method. After reading and analyzing the section we found that Descartes outlined 4 maxims(moral codes) of life.The four moral codes/maxims are as follows:
1. Comply with rules,laws, and guidelines of society, country, and religion, but never take an extreme opinion that is irrational.
2. Make a decision and stick with it. Avoid and ignore any and all doubts that you may have. 9/10 times when you go against your original gut feeling, you were right the first time and your reasoning mislead you to an incorrect answer.
3. Focus on smaller issues that you can actually change and control. Descartes recommended to change yourself first. In order to be a beacon of light for the world, you have to change yourself and fully comply with what you're preaching.
4. Think about every career option you have, evaluate them, and then pick the one that is best suited for you. It appears that Descartes knew that some people rushed into careers and weren't happy when they got stuck doing a job that they could not stand.
He goes on to say that a career consisting of reasoning and truth is the best that one can get.After making these points he goes on to say that he traveled around for the next 9 years critically testing and analyzing his proposed methods. After that, he retired in a city where people were too busy and self-involved to bother him so he was able to like a life of solidarity and ponder his thoughts completely undisturbed.
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3 comments:
Although you simplified Part Three of the Discourse Method, you did a great job. It got right to the point and it is very simple to understand. Sometimes while reading the book, I could not comprehend to what he was saying because of the language he uses.
Also i think all four of his maxims were very helpful to him.
maxim one is perfect because he still follows the rules he knows since his birth yet never to take any sides that is irrational to him.
we all know that believing your gut feeling is right. and it is always better to go one way than being stuck where you are.
i believe before changing someone else's opinion and views on things, you should know what your own opinions are as well.
your pursuit of life is happiness. why stay with a job you can't stand. i like what descartes says because you should always look into things before settling down, whether it be a job, personal issues or something else, it is always better to look deeper into something and see what you are getting yourself into.
you outlines the maxims so clearly, much better then in the book itself. good job!
try to ask descartes the hard question...
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