Descartes' Advice on How to Read Philosophical Texts

I read again, therefore I understand (Descartes' advice on how to read philosophical texts)

Anyone who has decided to read one of the major philosophical texts knows that, in many cases, it is no simple task! Fortunately, the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes (1596-1650) has offered us useful advice on how to read a philosophical text. But before I delve into his advice on how to read philosophy, let me say a little about this great philosopher.

Descartes' most widely read book is the Meditations on First Philosophy (1641), or perhaps his earlier work Discourse on the Method (1635), which was written as an introduction to his three treatises Optics, Meteorology, and Geometry. The text that will be referenced below is from another work by Descartes, Principles of First Philosophy (1644), which is less frequently read in introductory philosophy classes. Descartes wrote the Principles of Philosophy as a textbook. This book encompasses all the ideas and discoveries from his previous works; it includes the cogito (I think, therefore I am: proof of one's own existence) and the proof of God's existence. The style of textbooks in Descartes' time was different. Descartes intended to systematically introduce students to his ideas and arguments. The style of the Principles of First Philosophy differs from the meditative and autobiographical nature found in the Meditations on First Philosophy and the Discourse on the Method. Descartes hoped that the Principles of First Philosophy could be used in the best universities of Europe, and ultimately serve as a replacement for the old Aristotelian works that dominated the scholastic thought of the Middle Ages.

When Descartes wrote the following advice for readers, the invention of the printing press was not long past, and this meant that the general public could access books for the first time. Before this time, only the educated, which primarily included members of the clergy, could read books. Since the majority of the population was illiterate, knowledge and information had to be transmitted to the people through sources of power like the Roman Catholic Church. But Descartes—like Martin Luther before him—was convinced that ordinary people (even peasants) could discover the truth for themselves if they used their minds properly. Therefore, Descartes published the Discourse on the Method in the common vernacular—French, not Latin. By publishing the book in the language of his compatriots, Descartes sought to bypass the members of the academy and enter into dialogue with men and women of reason.

This is the advice Descartes offers to readers for reading his works:

"It is appropriate for the reader first to go through the entire book very quickly, like a novel, without overly drawing his attention to the difficulties he encounters or pausing over them. The goal should merely be to identify in a general way the issues I have addressed. After this, if he finds that these issues merit examination or is curious about their claims, he can read the book a second time to see how successful the arguments are. But if he cannot fully understand them, or if he does not understand all the arguments, he should not give up all at once. He should merely mark the places where he finds difficulties with a pen and continue reading without stopping. If he then wishes to read the book a third time, I believe most of the difficulties he previously marked will become clear; and if any problem still remains, he can discover the final solution through a final reading."

The first and most important thing to note is that reading philosophy is time-consuming and requires tenacity. Reading philosophy is not a simple or passive activity. Instead, the reader must think carefully about what they are reading. It is not unusual to need to read a philosophical book or a section of it several times to understand the author's ideas.

Just as in the Discourse on the Method Descartes provides a method for correct reasoning, we can identify his advice for correctly reading philosophical texts with the help of the following four rules (we can apply these rules to reading a book, chapter, or article)

1) Read the entire work quickly, as you would read a novel. At first, you only want to get a general idea of the book.

2) Read the work a second time, this time paying more attention to the arguments presented. Take a pen and mark the difficult passages. (Let me add a piece of advice: try to write the arguments in your own words – before we are forced to restate something in our own words, we often think we have understood it.)

3) Read the material a third time, paying attention to the problems and questions you identified in the second stage. This will help you find solutions to the difficulties you marked.

4) If difficulties still remain, read those sections a fourth time. This will resolve the problem.

Descartes' message empowers us. Each of us, whether woman or man, farmer or cleric, is capable of reasoning, which means each of us is capable of discovering the truth for ourselves. Some of these truths – whether about us or about the world – await discovery in the pages of books. Therefore, for those who wish to discover the truth for themselves, heed Descartes' advice: read. And read again!

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I Read Again, Therefore I Understand (Descartes' Advice on How to Read Philosophical Texts)

Kimberly Blessing

Translated by Zuhair Bagheri No'parast

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