The Secret Life of Descartes
Were it not for his untimely death in 1650, Rene Descartes would be (and fully expected to be) 412 years old by now and more convinced than ever, “I still think; therefore I still am.”
We remember him as the French philosopher who held that mind and body are distinct substances – which makes me think of calf brains and veal.
Actually, Descartes spent most of his adult life not in France but in and around Amsterdam, working as a physician and researching new cures for mental and physical afflictions. These were the days when the Dutch East India Company had cornered a major share of the spice trade, and the herbs they were bringing back from Sri Lanka and the Moluccas were regarded not only as flavorings but, primarily, as medicines.
It was nutmeg for diarrhea, headaches, and colds; ginger for dyspepsia; cloves for toothache; pepper for fever and flatulence. Descartes studied these along with animal organs from the butcher shop. He had also experimented with mathematical methods for curing disease, which fortunately have been lost. He believed that his scientific discoveries might extend his own lifespan to perhaps 500 years.
Cogito ergo sum, sum, sum.
As attending physician to the exiled Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia, he treated her chronic headaches, depression, and rashes. His advice, as reported by Steven Shapin: “Take some ‘refreshing broths which contain nothing but kitchen herbs’ and, above all, look on the bright side of life.”
Descartes was not only a philosopher, physician, and psychotherapist but also a formidable mathematician who co-founded analytical geometry and a physicist who advanced the science of optics.
But anyone can have a bad day. In a careless moment, having misplaced his tin of nutmeg as well as the decimal point in his projected lifespan, he died of a chill at 54.
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Bravo! A delightful and enlighting read.
Comment by MrsD — February 16, 2008 @ 10:03 pm
Hey, thanks! Around here we refer to this website as “the Horse,” so it was inevitable that eventually we’d put Descartes before …. oh, never mind.
Comment by Al — February 16, 2008 @ 10:56 pm
You know, in French, “des cartes” means “the menus.”
Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it?
Comment by Arthur2 — February 18, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
I itch, therefore I scratch
Comment by MrsD — February 19, 2008 @ 8:53 am
Brilliant! All philosophical wisdom springs from sense experience.
Comment by Al — February 19, 2008 @ 4:30 pm