Descartes

Catalog description

Three years after he finished college, Descartes got stuck in a snowstorm on his way to fight in a war. Alone in his room, he reflected on his education, coming to believe that many of the things he had been taught in college were pretty dubious. He also realized that he had believed many things all his life without giving thought to his reasons for believing them. He decided the best thing he could do was rid himself of all his old beliefs and then, relying only on his own mind, replace them with only those beliefs for which he could find good reasons. This course discusses the development and results of Descartes' search for truth.