Author Archives: markdowe1

History, Philosophy

Philosophy: Rene Descartes

DESCARTES’ DISCOURSE

IN 1637 RENE Descartes published his discourse (Discours de la Methode). In this he established the principle that metaphysical demonstrations should be based on mathematical certainty, not on scholastic subtleties. Descartes argued that the proper way to reason is to doubt everything systematically until only the clear and simple ideas that are beyond doubt are left. Then you have arrived at the truth. This method of thinking became known as the ‘Cartesian’ method.

Descartes wanted to be able to doubt everything, but he vehemently affirmed his certainty in his own existence: I think, therefore I am. Whatever else the sceptic may doubt, he should not doubt his own existence. The saying entails believing that mind is more real than matter. This idea was not entirely new: St Augustine said something similar but did not give it the emphasis that Descartes did. He also adopted as a general rule that all things that we conceive very clearly and very distinctly are true.

Descartes’ view of the world was rigidly deterministic. Dead matter and living matter are equally governed by the laws of physics, so there is no need to follow Aristotle in thinking in terms of a soul, or some equivalent to a soul, to explain the growth of organisms. This got Descartes, a devout Christian, into some difficulties. If all organisms, people included, were simply following predetermined laws of physics, how could free will exist? The Bible taught him that people did have free will, and that making the wrong choice resulted in the exclusion from Eden. In the end, Descartes was unable to resolve a fundamental problem in his philosophical system, because he had one foot in the scholasticism of the middle ages and one foot in contemporary science. If he had been able to leave his religion behind, he could have achieved philosophical consistency, and planted both feet in the modern world. Descartes’ philosophy is all the more interesting because it stands on the division between two mindsets. It stands at a particular moment in human history, a particular threshold.

Descartes is generally regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. He was the first man of high philosophical capacity to be affected by the new physics and the new astronomy. He was bold in not accepting foundations that had been laid down by earlier philosophers; he tried to set out a complete philosophic edifice from scratch, something which had not really been attempted by anyone since Aristotle. He developed a simple, direct and clear literary style, one that could be understood by intelligent men of the world; he did not try for an obscure or jargon-ridden style that would impress without really communicating.

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Health, Medical, Research, Science

Alzheimer’s genes advance

MEDICAL RESEARCH

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have discovered many new genes that are linked to thinking and cognitive skills. The breakthrough could help in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

SCIENTISTS have discovered nearly 150 genes linked to thinking skills in a breakthrough that could help combat Alzheimer’s disease.

A team lead by the University of Edinburgh found 148 genes that could have an impact on thinking skills – such as memory, reasoning, speed of mental processing and spatial awareness.

. See also New biological marker could detect Alzheimer’s disease ten years before symptoms appear…

Scientists said the results could help understanding of the declines in cognitive function that happen with illness as people age.

The study analysed data from 300,486 people aged between 16 and 102 who had taken part in 57 cohort studies in Australia, Europe and North America.

Dr Gall Davies, of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, who led the analysis, said: ‘This study, the largest genetic study of cognitive function, has identified many genetic differences that contribute to the heritability of thinking skills.

‘The discovery of shared genetic effects on health outcomes and brain structure provides a foundation for exploring the mechanisms by which these differences influence thinking skills throughout a lifetime.’

As well as having better thinking skills, the genetic areas are associated with better cardiovascular and mental health, lower risk of lung cancer and longer life.

Those who participated in the study, first published in Nature Communications, had taken a variety of thinking and mental tests which were summarised as a general cognitive ability score.

All had genetic testing that examined their DNA, and none had dementia or a stroke.

Medicine Chest

Brazil Nuts

. Brazil Nuts – Selenium is found in Brazil nuts, which are actually one of the very few good sources of this mineral, needed in the body to make the antioxidant enzyme called glutathione peroxidase, which help prevent free-radical damage to your cells.

Studies continue to show that people who eat selenium-rich food greatly reduce their risk of developing cancer and heart disease. Research also indicates that selenium helps the kidneys to clean toxins from the body more efficiently. Other sources include whole-grain cereals, seafood and seaweed.

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Economic, European Union, Government, Italy, Politics, Society

A provocation and insult to democracy

ITALY

ITALY has had no fewer than 65 governments since the War – with an average survival rate of just over a year. The country is hardly renowned as a beacon of democratic stability.

Even by the standards of this volatile nation, however, the current political crisis is becoming more troubling and bizarre by the day. It proves yet again the disastrous folly of imposing the one-size-fits-all euro on countries for which it is so obviously unsuitable. Pertinently, it demonstrates that Brussels has no qualms about trampling on democracy to keep the dream of a European superstate alive.

Italy’s national finances are in a dire state. Marooned in a sea of debt, with a stagnant economy and crippling unemployment rate, citizens of that beleaguered land renounced their mainstream Europhile parties in a general election just three months ago. They rightly blamed membership of the single currency for their misery and elected a coalition of unashamedly populist, Eurosceptic parties – led by the maverick Five Star movement and Right-wing Northern League.

Yet, when radical economist Paolo Savona – a passionate opponent of the euro – was named finance minister he was vetoed by Italy’s slavishly pro-Brussels president Sergio Matarella, who then nominated his own man as prime minister and invited him to form a totally unelected government. It has no mandate of course and will soon fall. Mr Matarella could possibly be impeached for overreaching his powers. But what an affront to democracy.

Had this happened in some Third World state, it would have quickly been denounced as tyrannical and corrupt. Not in Europe. In both Paris and Berlin, Mr Matarella is being praised for his courage. There is no better example or illustration of how people across the European continent are being disenfranchised – and just why they are crying out for change.

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