I Think Therefore I am, The Best of All Possibilities
Descartes’ Discourse on the Method allows readers to learn of the natural light of the mind through a series of steps and a well-constructed argument. Descartes’ writings warn of the dangers of following a bad teacher of philosophy and how one can avoid such dangers, essentially laying the groundwork for what good philosophy should be judged or measured against. This method strongly contrasts the philosophy by Pangloss in Voltaire’s Candide, which is poorly constructed, never backed by evidence, and does not allow for the expansion of the mind. Voltaire wrote the character Pangloss to symbolize weak philosophy, while Descartes wrote the Method to teach people how to judge how flawed philosophy can be. Descartes’ approach follows a very systematic process that places emphasis on having evidence before one believes a philosophy to be correct. Descartes wrote the Discourse on the Method so that all people, possessing good sense (5), would be able to reason properly and liv...