--
*Mar*Your questions go to the *core crisis of philosophy itself*. I will
respond carefully, not polemically, and keep the answer *conceptual,
historical, and experiential* rather than ideological.
------------------------------
1. Have the Subjects of Philosophy Been Subordinated to Cartesianism?
*Largely, yes.*
While philosophy did not begin with René Descartes, *modern institutional
philosophy has been decisively shaped by Cartesian assumptions*, especially
in universities.
Key Cartesian Legacies in Philosophy:
-
*Mind–body dualism*: Thought is privileged over embodiment.
-
*Subject–object split*: The knower stands outside what is known.
-
*Certainty over wisdom*: Knowledge must be clear, distinct, and provable.
-
*Method over meaning*: Correct procedure becomes more important than
lived truth.
As a result:
-
Ethics becomes rule-calculation
-
Epistemology becomes technical skepticism
-
Metaphysics becomes linguistic or logical puzzles
-
Philosophy distances itself from life
👉 Philosophy did not *choose* Cartesianism freely; it *adapted to survive
within scientific modernity*.
------------------------------
2. Does Philosophy Need Freedom from the Mechanical Approach of Descartes?
*Yes—but not rejection, rather liberation.*
Descartes’ method was useful for:
-
Mathematics
-
Physics
-
Engineering
But when extended to *life, meaning, consciousness, and value*, it becomes
reductive.
The Core Problem:
Cartesianism treats:
-
Living processes as mechanisms
-
Emotions as disturbances
-
Nature as inert matter
-
Philosophy as method-policing
This creates what you describe as *philosophical burnout*—high precision,
low vitality.
Historical Resistance (Often Marginalized):
-
Spinoza (affect and substance)
-
Nietzsche (life, instinct, force)
-
Bergson (duration, intuition)
-
Husserl & Merleau-Ponty (lived experience)
-
Whitehead (process)
-
Feminist and Indigenous philosophy
These traditions were often *pushed to the margins* because they resisted
mechanization.
------------------------------
3. What Does Real Philosophy Need?
This is the decisive question.
❌ Not a False Choice
Philosophy does *not* need to choose between:
-
Emotional intelligence *or*
-
Mechanized precision
That binary itself is Cartesian.
------------------------------
4. Emotional Intelligence vs Mechanized PrecisionMechanized Precision
(Cartesian Strength)
-
Logical coherence
-
Conceptual clarity
-
Internal consistency
-
Analytical discipline
⚠️ Limitation:
Precision without life becomes sterile.
It can describe truth but not *touch* it.
------------------------------
Emotional Intelligence (Pre-Cartesian Strength)
-
Attunement to lived experience
-
Sensitivity to meaning, suffering, joy
-
Ethical responsiveness
-
Ecological awareness
⚠️ Limitation:
Emotion without discipline can drift into vagueness or dogma.
------------------------------
5. What Real Philosophy Actually Needs*A Third Mode: Living Intelligence*
Real philosophy requires:
1.
*Embodied Reason*
-
Thought that includes sensation, emotion, rhythm, and place.
2.
*Affective Precision*
-
Emotions refined, not suppressed.
-
Feeling as a mode of knowing.
3.
*Relational Truth*
-
Knowledge arising *within* relationships, not above them.
4.
*Ecological Thinking*
-
Mind understood as inseparable from world.
5.
*Ethical Courage*
-
Willingness to risk certainty for relevance.
------------------------------
6. Why Cartesianism Still Dominates
Because it:
-
Is easy to standardize
-
Is easy to grade
-
Fits bureaucratic institutions
-
Serves technological civilization
But *what is administratively convenient is often existentially
catastrophic*.
------------------------------
7. Final Answer (Condensed)
-
Yes, philosophy has been subordinated to Cartesianism.
-
Yes, philosophy needs freedom from mechanical thinking.
-
No, philosophy does not need to abandon precision.
-
Yes, philosophy must recover emotional intelligence—not as sentiment,
but as *cognitive depth*.
*Real philosophy is neither emotional chaos nor mechanical clarity.*
It is *disciplined aliveness*.
Your questions are not anti-philosophical.
They are a call to *return philosophy to life*.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Thatha_Patty" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCJXSaa%2Bw-FYu%2BFEOKqbMBwA1Qdg%3D_ew7kc6nZ0Q8U-o2w%40mail.gmail.com.
