How Things Work – A Brief History of Reality
Book I – Dualism (Descartes' Influence of Christianity)
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Tuesday, February 1, 2022
“I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker.” – Voltaire
CONSIDERATION #16 – Descartes’ Influence on Christianity
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
It seems ironic that Descartes’ rational, objective approach to developing a unifying new science specifically designed to find the true nature of God would eventually diverge into two completely opposing camps regarding the truth of reality. The Catholic Church utilized Descartes’ “sacred” metaphysics to build a rational abstract reality related to the nature of God, while rejecting the “secular” metaphysics of the physical, or profane, world. Science, on the other hand, would eventually completely abandon the abstraction of God as being worthy of serious “scientific” investigation or consideration. How did the same rationalism that led to the scientific method also become the foundation for Catholic theology?
“Descartes’ new ‘scientific method’ did not seek truth through the sanctity of Roman Catholicism or the authority of the Pope…”
It is important to remember, that essentially, science developed within the institution of Roman Catholicism. Other than the Bible, the theological foundation of that system was built on the metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle. This is the system in which Descartes first learned about Aristotle and embraced his system of metaphysics. Therefore, much of Descartes’ work and many of his conclusions were very much in line with traditional Catholicism. His break with traditional Catholic orthodoxy occurs as a consequence of his break with Aristotle’s method for gaining truth and certainty, which had been the foundation for the Church’s authority. Descartes’ new “scientific method” did not seek truth through the sanctity of Roman Catholicism or the authority of the Pope; the Church would no longer be the sole arbiter of truth. Descartes’ Scientific Method threatened to replace Divine Truth with Scientific Truth, which it eventually did.
“The Church determined which ideas and conclusions were acceptable and which were not.”
However, Descartes and his contemporaries were under the complete authority of the Church, particularly in their public actions and discussions. The Church determined which ideas and conclusions were acceptable and which were not. Although Descartes’ understanding of the scientific method was definitely unacceptable, other ideas and conclusions were considered extremely valuable. Even though virtually everyone in Western Europe was under the control of the Catholic Church, esteemed secular scholars such as Descartes were still influential, therefore valuable and useful. Also, Descartes was a Catholic.
“Descartes developed a ‘new’ metaphysical proof of God that did not destroy or fundamentally deny the old proof of God.”
Descartes’ understanding of God essentially correlated with Aristotle’s, which had already become embedded into Catholic theology and orthodoxy. Therefore, Descartes develops a “new” metaphysical proof of God that did not destroy or fundamentally deny the old proof of God. Both Descartes and Aristotle saw God as the Unmoved Mover and Creator of the Universe. In this sense and context, Descartes’ new method completely supported the traditional Catholic understanding of “God the Father.” In addition, Descartes’ spiritual metaphysics did not end with the proof of God; it also included metaphysics related to the human soul.
“Descartes’ concept of ‘mind’ and Plato’s concept involving a ‘realm of forms’ both work very well to support the Church’s concept of ‘Heaven,’ where perfect nonphysical eternal souls reside forever.”
Much like Plato’s Theory of Forms, Descartes’ Mind-Body Paradox creates an opportunity for a spiritual interpretation. Like Plato, Descartes postulates a “physical” world of existence as well as a “nonphysical” world of pure abstraction. Again, like Plato, Descartes recognizes the abstract world, which he calls “mind,” to be the source of the physical world. Descartes’ concept of “mind” and Plato’s concept involving a “realm of forms” both work very well to support the Church’s concept of “Heaven,” where perfect nonphysical eternal souls reside forever. Heaven, like the mind and the realm of forms, represents abstract perfection as the ultimate source and experience of pure reality.
However, Descartes is concerned with more than just proving the possibility of a soul; he is also concerned with understanding exactly how such a mechanism could work.
CONSIDERATION #16: Descartes and Christianity
Descartes' Influence on Christianity
“I’m like a medium between God and nothingness”
– Rene Descartes
One of the key consequences of Descartes’ mind-body dualism is that it offers rational proofs for the existence of life after death. If mind and body are separate things, then it is logical to consider that they should be able to exist separate from one another. According to Descartes, the aspect of the mind that survives physical death is the soul. Here is how it works.
“Plato seemed unconcerned with exactly how the soul could be in the body and also leave it…”
Descartes was not the first philosopher to consider the possibility of an immortal soul. Plato wrote a dialogue regarding the immortality of the soul and the possibility of life after death in the Phaedo. However, Plato seemed unconcerned with exactly how the soul could be in the body and also leave it; although focused on the possibility of an immortal soul, he was not really concerned with how such a connection would actually work.
“Plato was focused on if, and how, the soul can survive death, and not as interested in the ‘mind-body problem’ of how it functions within the system.”
Like many religious thinkers, Plato was focused on if, and how, the soul can survive death, and not as interested in the “mind-body problem” of how it functions within the system. Their main concern was for the human being and their immortal soul, not the technical processes of how such a thing could occur. Therefore, they simply avoided the incongruity that Descartes attempted to solve.
“…the function of the soul while in the body is to bring a unique kind of reason to human beings…”
Descartes establishes that animals are similar to human beings in many ways, such as having similar organs like the heart, lungs, and brain. However, animals do not possess the ability to speak or reason. Therefore, Descartes concludes that human beings have an additional faculty of mind not possessed by animals. He determines this unique human attribute to be a distinct kind of “rational soul” which is immortal, and therefore can live separate from the body. That means that when the body dies, the soul continues to exist because it is eternal. Therefore, the function of the soul while in the body is to bring a unique kind of reason to human beings, and after physical death of the body continues to exist in a separate nonphysical dimension.
In Christianity, Descartes’ work would greatly influence theology, particularly regarding the ideas related to God’s existence and the soul residing in a nonphysical environment after death. Descartes’ concepts of God and the soul helped to solidify the dogma of heaven, hell, and purgatory in the Catholic Church, as well as influencing virtually all other later Christian denominations in terms of the “after life.”
POSTSCRIPT
Descartes established certainty by rationally deducing a “self” that was uncertain. This self is connected to the nonphysical mind that has access to the “mind of God” through abstractions such as logical thoughts and mathematics. Descartes also argues that the “rational soul” is connected to this non-physical mind which exists outside and beyond the body. Unlike the ancient “truths” connecting lighting strikes to the God Zeus, Descartes’ “truths” were not based on mere causal connections and speculation. Descartes’ truths were based on the “scientific method” utilizing pure rational logic and deduction.
Descartes’ belief in God was not self-evident through faith; but communicated directly to him through the divine self-evident language of God: mathematics. Having the most rational, objective, uncertain man in history declare proof of God and the soul went a long way in maintaining the dominance and influence of Catholic theology; then and into the future.
Next week we will summarize what we have learned so far and consider Descartes’ overall impact on modern reality. We will also begin connecting our current present-day understanding of reality to Rationalism, Empiricism, and the Scientific Method which leads to the “Age of Reason,” the birth of the United States of America, the transformation and worldwide expansion of Christian thought and influence, and the beginning of a revolution in science and technology that would eventually lead to a paradigm shift in our view of reality: Einstein’s theories of relativity.
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