KNTV PHILOSOPHY

RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650)

The 'Father of Philosophy', Descartes proved that staying in bed all morning can help the brain to function. That's how he came up with his simple but profound idea that changed philosophy forever – 'I think, therefore I am.'

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

00:00 – 03:29

Kierky and Nietzsche like the idea of lolling around in bed having ideas... but when Kierky tries to explain Descartes' theory, Nietzsche soon loses the plot. It's not quite as simple as it sounds.

03:30 – 07:08
WHAT was Descartes' great idea?

Descartes searched for the universal and unquestionable truth, and said that any idea that could be doubted should be discarded. He wanted to know how we could be sure that anything we see is real and concluded that the only thing we can be sure of is that we exist, because we are thinking – 'I think, therefore I am'. Descartes imagined knowledge like a tree, where the roots are metaphysics, the trunk is physics and the branches are the other sciences. He sought to explain the natural world mathematically, and developed analytical geometry – a way of solving problems using coordinates, which provided a crucial link between algebra and geometry.

Kierky and Nietzsche demonstrate Descartes' Wax Argument, which shows how our senses tell us what a piece of wax looks like and how it feels, smells and tastes, but when we heat the wax, it changes completely, proving that the senses are unreliable. Understanding the true nature of wax means using the mind, not the senses.

07:09 – 13:00
WHO was Descartes?

Descartes was a sickly child, and his teacher allowed him to study in bed – a habit that he carried on throughout his life. He travelled around Europe, and had a spell in the military. Like other fashionable men of the time, Descartes loved wearing hats and wigs. He was an ace swordsman, and once, when approached by a drunk, he pinned him to the ground with his sword. He was employed to teach the Queen of Sweden philosophy, but she made him get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and kept the windows open while he taught. Exhausted, Descartes succumbed to pneumonia and died aged only 53. Another of his discoveries was the Cartesian coordinates system, a way of plotting a position or a shape using two axes.

13:01 – 16:21
WHEN Descartes was alive, what else was going on?

Henri IV was King of France when Descartes was born. The king was a kindly man, who didn't want the peasants to go hungry, but his spendthrift wife Queen Margot had other ideas. Poverty was rife in Europe, and things became even worse when the Thirty Years War broke out in 1618. Animals were sometimes charged with crimes and taken to court. Duelling with swords was a popular way for gentlemen to settle disagreements.

16:22 – 19:20
WHY was Descartes inspired?

All that sleeping gave Descartes time to dream, and he had many dreams that influenced his thinking and encouraged his work. Another influence was fellow philosopher Isaac Beeckman, although they sometimes fell out with each other. Watching a housefly led Descartes to wonder how he could plot its position using mathematics. He experimented on animals, believing that they couldn't feel pain, and was fascinated by robots known as automata.

19:21 – 24:00
HOW have Descartes' ideas shaped today's world?

Descartes' ideas challenged existing philosophical thought, because he took nothing at face value and moved science away from the superstitious beliefs of the past. His mechanistic view of the world – that it can be seen as being like a vast machine – has influenced technologies like computers and MP3 players as well as meteorology. His concept of analytical geometry is still used in map-making. His willingness to stand against popular ideas inspired other philosophers to think differently and defend their beliefs.