Opposing French Philosophies

Opposing French Philosophies

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines philosophy as, “[T]he study of the principles underlying conduct, thought, and the nature of the universes” (Agnes, 2002, p. 478). Since the beginning of time, humans have tried to explain their existence and the meaning of such by declaring their philosophy. The sixteenth and seventeenth century spawned two prominent philosophers. Although Rene Descartes and Baron d’Holbach were both famous French philosophers, their beliefs manifested two completely contradictory philosophies.

Born in 1596, Rene Descartes was a celebrated philosopher of the seventeenth century. His birthplace, the town of La Haye, France was later renamed Descartes in his honor. Descartes’ main areas of study in college were Aristotelian logic, metaphysics, physics, and ethics; but, he was dissatisfied with the education he received and left school rejecting most of what he was taught (Garber, 2003). To learn his chosen trade of military engineering, Descartes traveled throughout Europe. During his travels, he came in contact with a man named Isaac Beeckman who introduced Descartes to some of the newer scientific concepts including mixed mathematics, mathematical astronomy, and geometric optics (Garber, 2003). Soon after, Descartes settled into a new role as a mathematician and philosopher. Eventually, Descartes became known as the father of the modern philosophy when he broke away from old scholasticism and declared, “I think, therefore I am” (Garber, 2003, ¶ 5).

In the eighteenth century, another renowned philosopher, Paul Heinrich Dietrich (Baron d’Holbach), was born in Germany. Not long after his 1723 birth, Dietrich moved to Paris, France where he was raised and educated. He became a very wealthy man by receiving inheritances from both his uncle, who financed his education, and his father-in-law. In tribute to his uncle, F.A. d'Holbach, from whom he inherited property, money and title, Paul Heinrich adopted the last...