Method and Melancholy: Aristotle and the defence against Cartesian estrangement

Area of Science:

• History of Science
• Philosophy of Mind
• Epistemology

Background:

• Leading English scholars (17th century) publicly favored Aristotle over Descartes.
• Modern interpretations view this as traditionalism or theological maneuvering.
• Scholars' actual positions on perception were materialistic and causal, closer to Descartes than Aristotle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-examine the declarations of English scholars preferring Aristotle over Descartes.
• To analyze the works of John Sergeant, Thomas White, and Kenelm Digby.
• To demonstrate their concern with Descartes's theory of vision and its implications for sensory perception.

Main Methods:

• Historical analysis of 17th-century philosophical texts.
• Examination of the writings of John Sergeant, Thomas White, and Kenelm Digby.
• Comparative study of Aristotelian and Cartesian theories of perception.

Main Results:

• Scholars' preference for Aristotle was not traditionalism but a response to Cartesian epistemology.
• The core issue was the 'estrangement' of sensory experience from reality under Descartes's model.
• These thinkers rejected substantial forms and adopted materialistic, causal explanations.

Conclusions:

• The scholars' engagement with Aristotle aimed to resolve the problem of sensory alienation caused by Descartes's vision theory.
• They sought to restore a perceived compatibility between human experience and the external world.
• Their philosophical stance, though seemingly anti-Cartesian, shared materialistic and causal underpinnings.