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THE IMAGINARY AND DESCARTES’ PARADOXICAL RATIONALITY

Year 2018, Issue: 25, 37 - 50, 01.04.2018

Abstract

The imaginary plays a distinctive role in Descartes’ writings. While its place is often articulated in negative terms as that which is illusory or deceptive , it nonetheless serves as an important ground for the Cartesian project to unfold. Descartes’ search for clear and distinct ideas takes place through reason’s interplay with the imaginary. While its reliability as a source of knowledge is ultimately dismissed, the imaginary is that which is never truly mastered or overcome. It is a source of dread and anxiety; which reason seeks to mitigate. This essay explores such interplay between the real and the imaginary, between reason and “unreason” in Descartes’ Meditations as well as his Olympica, which contains some precursor themes and tropes to The Meditations. While the Cartesian project seeks to separate the real from the imaginary and reason from unreason, I argue that the manner in which his discourse unfolds reveals their inextricable tie.

References

  • Baillet, Adrien. La Vie de monsieur Des-Cartes, vol 1. Paris, 1691.
  • Butler, Judith. “‘How can I Deny that These Hands and This Body are Mine?’” Qui Parle 1997: 11-1.
  • Cole, John R. The Olympian Dreams and Youthful Rebellion of Réne Descartes, USA: University of Illinois Press, 1992.
  • Descartes, Réne. “Discourse on the Method,” in Philosophical Writings of Descartes Volume 1 ed. Cottingham et al. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • --- “Meditations,” in Philosophical Writings of Descartes Volume 2 ed. Cottingham et al. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • Kennington, Richard. “Descartes’ ‘Olympica’,” Social Research, 1961: 28.
  • Markus, George. “Do Ideas Have Bodies? Philosophical ‘Content’ and Literary ‘Form’ in Descartes,” Literature and Aesthetics, 2004: 14-1.
  • McCallam, David. “Encountering and Countering the ‘Uncanny’ in Descartes’ Meditations,” French Studies, 2003: LVII-2.
  • Nancy, Jean-Luc. “Mundus Est Fabula,” MLN 1978: 93-4.
  • Sepper, Dennis. Descartes’s Imagination: Proportion, Images, and the Activity of Thinking. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.

HAYALİ OLAN VE DESCARTES’IN PARADOKSAL RASYONELLİĞİ

Year 2018, Issue: 25, 37 - 50, 01.04.2018

Abstract

Hayali olanın Descartes’ın yazınındaki rolü oldukça kendine özgüdür. “Asılsız,” “yanıltıcı” gibi olumsuz terimler üzerinden düşünülüyor olsa da, hayali olan, Kartezyen projenin serimlenmesinde önemli bir zemin görevi üstlenir. Descartes’ın açık-seçiklik ve kesinlik arayışı aklın hayali olanla karşılıklı etkileşimi üzerinden kurulur. Epistemolojik güvenilirliği bulunmamakla beraber, hayali olan asla tamamıyla hükmedilemez ve üstesinden nihai olarak gelinemez olandır; akıl ile yatıştırılmaya çalışılan bir korku ve endişe kaynağıdır. Bu makale, Descartes’ın Meditasyonlar’ında ve Olympica’sında gerçek olan ile hayali olan ve akıl ile akıldışı arasındaki paslaşmaları incelemektedir. Kartezyen proje bu iki şeyi birbirinden ayırmayı hedeflese de, bu metinlerde ortaya koyulan diskurun kurgusu itibariyle aralarında karmaşık ve ayrıştırılamaz bir bağın bulunduğunu ileri sürüyorum.

References

  • Baillet, Adrien. La Vie de monsieur Des-Cartes, vol 1. Paris, 1691.
  • Butler, Judith. “‘How can I Deny that These Hands and This Body are Mine?’” Qui Parle 1997: 11-1.
  • Cole, John R. The Olympian Dreams and Youthful Rebellion of Réne Descartes, USA: University of Illinois Press, 1992.
  • Descartes, Réne. “Discourse on the Method,” in Philosophical Writings of Descartes Volume 1 ed. Cottingham et al. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • --- “Meditations,” in Philosophical Writings of Descartes Volume 2 ed. Cottingham et al. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • Kennington, Richard. “Descartes’ ‘Olympica’,” Social Research, 1961: 28.
  • Markus, George. “Do Ideas Have Bodies? Philosophical ‘Content’ and Literary ‘Form’ in Descartes,” Literature and Aesthetics, 2004: 14-1.
  • McCallam, David. “Encountering and Countering the ‘Uncanny’ in Descartes’ Meditations,” French Studies, 2003: LVII-2.
  • Nancy, Jean-Luc. “Mundus Est Fabula,” MLN 1978: 93-4.
  • Sepper, Dennis. Descartes’s Imagination: Proportion, Images, and the Activity of Thinking. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
There are 10 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Fulden İbrahimhakkıoğlu This is me

Publication Date April 1, 2018
Published in Issue Year 2018 Issue: 25

Cite

Chicago İbrahimhakkıoğlu, Fulden. “HAYALİ OLAN VE DESCARTES’IN PARADOKSAL RASYONELLİĞİ”. FLSF Felsefe Ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, no. 25 (April 2018): 37-50.

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