Rationalists: Descartes and Spinoza. Essay 6

          At its most basic definition, rationalism is all about reason. Rationalists regard reason as the main source of knowlege. To some degree they are correct, even if one does not agree with rationalism, it is thanks to reason that we have knowledge about anything. Both Descartes and Spinoza were considered rationalists but for different reasons. Descartes, for example, believed that the only thing we can be sure of is that we think. his entire philosophy was completely based on reason and nothing else. Spinoza on the other hand was quite different to Descartes. He was considered a rationalist because of the way he answered questions on ethics. He had a very mechanincal way of answering questions. They were both rationalists but their philosophies were very different and like many philosophers in ancient Greece, they called on each other on their dissagreements.
          Descartes believed in doubting everything and that the only thing that we can be sure of is that we think. We think, therefore we exist. He does not believe in the senses at all and this results in a philosophy built mostly on reason. Unlike many past philosophers, Descartes and other philosophers of his time built their views from scratch instead of building them off of someone else's. He is also the first one to separate mind and body claiming that one is completely opposite to the other. He also separated the world into two substances which reinforced his idea of dualism.

Descartes

          Spinoza was another rationalist though his opinions were completely different to that of Descartes. He regected the idea of dualism saying that the two different substances were within the same universe. He believes that both mind and body are not separate but simply a single entity. In his book Ethics he answers many ethical questions in a very geometrical manner. Spinoza also regarded good and evil as relative concepts and not opposote entities.

Spinoza

          Many would think that to belong to the same philosophical movement one would have to have similar opinions. Yet Spinoza and Descartes were both rationalists with polar opinions. If one thinks about it they are bith rationalists in their special way. We can see that Descartes focuses soley on his reason and nothing more. He did not believe in his senses and the only thing he was truly sure of is that he could think. If we think, we exist. Spinoza on the other hand used reason to explain everything. For every question posed in his book there is a mechanical and well thought of response. He trusted his senses because without them he couldn't reason.
         Rationalism has influenced our culture for a long time. Thanks to it there is a great separation of mind and body in today's day and age. Both Descartes and Spinoza used reason in different ways and regarded it in different ways to solve the questions of the univesre. They also built their philosophy from scratch. The only thing these two had in common is their use of reason to back up their philosophies.

The Two Cultures, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance and the Baroque

          The two cultures, the middle ages, the renaissance and the baroque all seem very different. most of them had very opposote views of the world and different philosophies. yet they all influenced each other in one way or anotherand it is their influences which have helepd us create the modern world. Even though they are opposite, they all have one thing in common. They all give their idea on how humans should live to fullfill themselves. The base of each of their beliefs lies on the philosophy of the indoeuropeans and the semites.
          The two cultures reffer to the indoeurpeans and the semites who had very polar philosophies. Indoeuropean culture was very visual which is why they made various paintings and statues of their gods. They were all ploytheistic since they were composed of the societies of europe before christianity and in the eastern religions. Because of this they had a cyclical view of the world. Ther believed in reincarnation and that the world goes in cycles. All of this influences their view on how someone should live. Same goes for the semites. The semites were monotheistic and were composed of the three wester religions (Judeism, Christianity and Islam). They had a linear view of the world, meaning that the world had a begining and an end. Finally they focused on hearing rather than seeing.
           In the Middle Ages we can see elements from both cultures. It is mostly the semite aspects of culture which influenced how people were supposed to live in that period. People thought that life on earth didn't mean anything and one had to be preparing to go to heaven. They didnt pay much attention to art or sculpture either. We see some indoeuropean culture through Aristotle, the church's favorite philosopher
           Then in the Renaissance there is a change. We see more indoeuropean culture affecting how people live their lives. The focus more on what is happening on earth and because of this there is an entire revolution of art and writing. Yet the semite aspects of culture do not dissapear there is still a linear point of view which affects people's philosophy. There is also something new in the Renaissance which is the printing press. With the printing press more people became literate which is a massive cultural change. Being literate changes greatly a person's pont of view in philosophy and in life itself.
          The Baroque was an interesting period because people's views were very split. On one hand we had people who just wanted the pleasure of life and did not think about the future in any way. The others just wanted to contemplate life and the many pesimistic happenings that come with it. death being a major thought provoker. Like the people's views, the Baroque was very irregular (the name itself says it). Another thing was that the culture was very mechanic. Not only because of the technological advances but also because we don't see any poetry in this period but we do see great artistic advances in architechture and painting. People's viewpoints in the Baroque were split and somewhat irregular.
       All of these cultures and time periods have either brought the base to modern day philosophy and way of life or have been evolutionary point that lead to today's views. Even though they are all very different, they all have convincing philosophies that have lasted throughout the years.