Chapter 8

Question 1

Why was Descartes’ project worthwhile?

Answer 1

It shows the limits of what out cognitive faculties (reasoning, sense perceptions, etc.) are capable of.

Question 2

What law of motion did Descartes discover before Newton?

Answer 2

Newton’s first law of motion, inertia.

Question 3

What is mechanical philosophy? What is appealing about it?

Answer 3

Mechanical philosophy is a way of viewing the world as a machine rather than a living organism. It is appealing because it simplifies the world - a living organism is much harder to understand than a machine.

Question 4

What did Descartes name his book? What did he hope it would achieve?

Answer 4

Principles of Philosophy. He hoped it would replace Aristotle’s works as a science textbook in European universities.

Question 5

What mathematical system did Descartes invent that made Newton’s work possible? What two things did his system combine?

Answer 5

Analytic geometry, a.k.a. Cartesian coordinates. It combined algebra and geometry, shapes with numbers.

Question 6

What is the mathematics that deals with the problem of change?

Answer 6

Calculus