Descartes grounded certainty in thought, establishing mind as primary over matter.
Evidence
‘I think, therefore I am’ makes mind more certain than matter, and my mind (for me) more certain than the minds of others. There is thus, in all philosophy derived from Descartes, a tendency to subjectivism, and to regarding matter as something only knowable, if at all, by inference from what is known of mind. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2069
Categorization
- XREF: XREF connects to the origin of modern epistemological subjectivism and mind-body priority. — connects to: Plato argues that real knowledge derives from concepts rather than sensory perception — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 674; Augustine anticipated both Descartes cogito and Kant time theories — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1394; Mathematical certainty led philosophers to suppose thought is superior to sense — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 203 (+9 more)
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2069
Broader Connections
- Nature is constructed by the mind’s synthetic activity from raw sense perceptions
#expands(0.85) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 167 - Mathematical certainty led philosophers to suppose thought is superior to sense
#corroborates(0.75) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 203 - Knowledge requires mental reflection on existence rather than passive sensory impressions
#corroborates(0.70) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 693 - Descartes assumed an ego where only raw thoughts existed as data.
#expands(0.65) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2082