Nathan Petrofes

Dr. Stanton
6th Period
28 October 2013
Descartes
Traditional thinking methods thinking prior to Descartes time mostly consisted of the
deductive method which is made up of our previous beliefs. In the passage Descartes talks about
getting to the whole truth through whatever means possible, contradicting the inductive method.
In the passage Descartes says that by assuming some order to exist even in things which do not
appear to be naturally connected he gains insight into the truth. This is a clear weakness to his
method because not all things are naturally connected. A modern scientist might look at
Descartes second part where he breaks down the difficulty into every way possible as
extraneous and unnecessary. I feel as though Descartes approach was mainly geared toward a
math problem since he was a mathematician.
Galileo
According to Galileo questions that are appropriately scientific are questions about what
sense-experience sets before us and what necessary demonstrations prove to us. Galileo says that
appropriately theological questions are the dictate of the Holy Ghost and the executrix of Gods
commands. Galileo seems more mindful of his faith than Descartes who seems to exclude it from
the matter altogether. Even though Galileo is questioning his faith he still recognizes its
importance where Descartes seems to be focused on himself. Galileos views are so important to

the scientific revolution because they are what the revolution was about: questioning what the
Church taught through experiments.
Newton
Newtons laws are extremely useful in partaking in an experiment because they seem to
set up the modern scientific method. In Rule IV we see that Newton explains the necessity of the
hypothesis. In Rule II we see the need to assign causes to effects which an experiment clearly
explains. In Rule I we see the reason for the experiment itself which is to not make assumptions
and to find the cause of things. Descartes rules were about thinking about how the problem could
be solved especially through ones brain. Newton seems to want to act more on the question to
find the answer.
Sir Georges Clark
According to Clark there were many motives for people wanting to study and experiment.
He talks about the economic motives of the Germans, Italians, and Portuguese. He talks about
the health motivations of doctors, the musicians learning the mathematics of harmony and the
religious motivations of absolute correctness. The desire to know was so powerful in the
seventeenth century that it drove all of life unlike the times before.