Order vs Chaos
Is all philosophy just trying to find the order in our world? There is a scale between order and chaos
What is chaos?
- lawlessness
- immorality
What is chaotic?
- the natural world?
- society & concepts of man?
Different Camps of Philosophers
- Order is Discovered by man
- DescartesDescartes
Rene Descartes
Background Info
1596-1650
educated at Univ of Paris
Catholic Christian
not an academic
wrote [[Descartes, Meditations of First Philosophy]] from a [[Rationalism
rationalistic]] perspective
claims he is making a whole new start in philosophy
D. arrived at a certain and evident knowledge of the truth. He wants to see if he can persuade others by the same method that he himself used.
... - Anselm
- Great Chain of BeingGreat Chain of Being
Great Chain of Being
There are different levels of existence.
God
Universe
Man (King -> Nobles -> Knights -> Peasants)
Animals
Plants
Rocks
This philosophy went out of vogue along with the [[Divine Right of Kings]] around the ...
- DescartesDescartes
- Order is Imposed by man
- NietzcheNietzche
Nietzche
Notes
same religious critique of [[Kierkegaard]]: religion is superficial
so ditch religion
: Napoleon imposed order - Postmoderns
Expectation of order in science is a metaphysical claim - Copernicus built his theory off order - string theory is based on the elegance of its math
- NietzcheNietzche