DESCARTES’ ONTOLOGY AND THE IDEA OF NATURE CONTROL

The idea of nature control in Western civilisation is not only connected with ecological-climatic conditions as well as with social conditions but also with the nature of people and the properties of thinking, which are only typical to the human brain’s functional asymmetry. It was decisive in the...

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Main Author: Česlovas Kalenda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Vilnius University Press 1998-01-01
Series:Problemos
Online Access:https://ojs.rodau.lt/index.php/problemos/article/view/4267
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author Česlovas Kalenda
author_facet Česlovas Kalenda
author_sort Česlovas Kalenda
collection DOAJ
description The idea of nature control in Western civilisation is not only connected with ecological-climatic conditions as well as with social conditions but also with the nature of people and the properties of thinking, which are only typical to the human brain’s functional asymmetry. It was decisive in the West, differently from the East, that a rational, analytic rudiment was developed which legalized the antipode between subject and object, nature and spirit. Being one of the most outstanding successors of this tradition R. Descartes, a pupil of the Jesuit college, was devoted to a comparatively moderate position concerning the problems of nature control without any claim to global domination that was distinct to the gnosticism and hermetism of that time. Descartes’ ontology based on rationalism has, however, contributed to the strengthening of the mechanistic world model and, owing to it, granted a philosophical approval of man’s aspiration to remake and control nature.
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spelling doaj.art-67534482f2844f3ea66e33a1ac9339672024-04-01T14:50:27ZengVilnius University PressProblemos1392-11262424-61581998-01-0152DESCARTES’ ONTOLOGY AND THE IDEA OF NATURE CONTROLČeslovas Kalenda The idea of nature control in Western civilisation is not only connected with ecological-climatic conditions as well as with social conditions but also with the nature of people and the properties of thinking, which are only typical to the human brain’s functional asymmetry. It was decisive in the West, differently from the East, that a rational, analytic rudiment was developed which legalized the antipode between subject and object, nature and spirit. Being one of the most outstanding successors of this tradition R. Descartes, a pupil of the Jesuit college, was devoted to a comparatively moderate position concerning the problems of nature control without any claim to global domination that was distinct to the gnosticism and hermetism of that time. Descartes’ ontology based on rationalism has, however, contributed to the strengthening of the mechanistic world model and, owing to it, granted a philosophical approval of man’s aspiration to remake and control nature. https://ojs.rodau.lt/index.php/problemos/article/view/4267
spellingShingle Česlovas Kalenda
DESCARTES’ ONTOLOGY AND THE IDEA OF NATURE CONTROL
Problemos
title DESCARTES’ ONTOLOGY AND THE IDEA OF NATURE CONTROL
title_full DESCARTES’ ONTOLOGY AND THE IDEA OF NATURE CONTROL
title_fullStr DESCARTES’ ONTOLOGY AND THE IDEA OF NATURE CONTROL
title_full_unstemmed DESCARTES’ ONTOLOGY AND THE IDEA OF NATURE CONTROL
title_short DESCARTES’ ONTOLOGY AND THE IDEA OF NATURE CONTROL
title_sort descartes ontology and the idea of nature control
url https://ojs.rodau.lt/index.php/problemos/article/view/4267
work_keys_str_mv AT ceslovaskalenda descartesontologyandtheideaofnaturecontrol