15. Jean Bodin, op.cit.. p.28.
14* Pseudoxia Epidemica: or Enquiries into Commonly Presumed Truths. Menston, /164^ , 1972, p.385.
the disregard for records and accuracy is best illustrated by the story
told of the French historian, Vertot. It is reported that he
had just finished writing his account of the siege of Malta when someone drew his attention to the existence of some highly
important documents bearing on the subject. Vertot told him
he was too late, he had finished his Siegel 16
The unfortunate state into which history had slipped as a result of its purported raison d'etre was highlighted by two phenomena: the discover ies that resulted from travel and exploration; and the rise of the natural
sciences. By the seventeenth century Europeans had seen the wonders of
Asia, Africa and America. An account of them, for those not fortunate
17 enough to actually experience them could be read in the ’travel literature’
that flourished in the aftermath of the voyages of discovery. The widen
ing of horizons and the collection of new data that accompanied these events
made it clear that many of the old verities were false. Consequently there
was a call for a new approach. In 1636 Henri Brusson wrote:
The exploration of the globe having resulted in discoveries that have destroyed many of the data on which ancient phil osophy reposed, a new conception of things will inevitably
be called for. 18
Perhaps the inadequacy of the historian's approach was highlighted
to an even greater extent by the advance of the physical sciences. Their
methods set new standards of precision and so brought the inaccurate and
shoddy work of the historian into sharp relief. It came to be realised
that religious and political factors determined many historical accounts 19 and ’’the natural conclusion was to distrust the whole tribe of historians". In the wake of this attitude there developed an aggressive historical
Pyrrhonism represented by scholars such as Pierre Bayle and Gabriel Fontonelle.
The conception that history was pragmatic in purpose, therefore, had
16. loc.cit.
17. See Appendix B.
18. Quoted by Paul Hazard, op.cit.. p.8.
l e d t o i t s u s e , and e v e n t u a ll y c o r r u p t i o n , "by p r o p a g a n d i s t s . Many h i s t o r i a n s w ro te t h e i r a c c o u n ts in b ia s e d and i n a c c u r a t e f a s h i o n , d o in g v io l e n c e t o , and d i s r e g a r d i n g t h e i r s o u r c e s . When t h i s s t a t e o f a f f a i r s was h i g h l i g h t e d by t h e know ledge g a in e d from th e v o y a g e s o f d is c o v e r y and t h e m ethods o f th e p h y s i c a l s c i e n c e s , h i s t o r y came t o b e r e g a r d e d i n s c e p t i c a l f a s h i o n . When i t was r e a l i s e d t h a t i t s a c c u ra c y c o u ld n o t b e d ep en d ed upon t h e r e came t o be l e s s p r a i s e f o r i t s u s e f u l n e s s . The u t i l i t a r i a n a p p ro a c h w as th u s d e s t r u c t iv e o f h i s t o r y . As D e s c a r t e s o b s e r v e d :
. . . even th e m ost f a i t h f u l r e c o r d , a l th o u g h i t may n e i t h e r ch an g e th e f a c t s , n o r en h an ce t h e i r v a l u e , i n o r d e r t o make them more w o rth y o f b e in g r e l a t e d , a t l e a s t a lw a y s o m its t h e l e a s t d i g n i f i e d and t h e l e a s t i l l u s t r i o u s c i r c u m s ta n c e s . T h u s, t h e r e s t d o e s n o t a p p e a r su ch a s i t r e a l l y w as, and t h o s e who r e g u l a t e t h e i r b e h a v io u r by th e ex am p les th e y d e r i v e from i t a r e p ro n e t o f a l l i n t o th e e x tr a v a g a n c e s t h a t a f f l i c t t h e P a l a d i n s o f o u r ro m a n c e s, and to c o n c e iv e d e s ig n s t h a t e x c e e d t h e i r p o w e rs . 20
D e s c a r t e s : th e E n d -P ro d u c t o f th e U t i l i t a r i a n A pproach
The u n h e a lth y s t a t e i n t o w hich h i s t o r y had f a l l e n was c r y s t a l l i s e d in t h e p h ilo s o p h y o f Rene D e s c a r t e s . H is p o s i t i o n was a p r o d u c t o f h i s t o r i c a l P y rrh o n ism a n d , in t u r n , h e lp e d a c c e l e r a t e i t . The C a r t e s i a n a n a l y s i s was
in many w ays, a q u e s t f o r s e c u r i t y t h a t was o c c a s io n e d by th e breakdow n o f th e M ed iev al S y n t h e s i s .
I n a p e r io d when s c e p ti c is m was r i f e D e s c a r t e s s e t o u t t o r e e s t a b l i s h a l l know ledge on sound e p i s t e m o l o g ic a l f o u n d a ti o n s by em p lo y in g a p r o c e d u re o f s y s te m a tic d o u b t:
Not t h a t I was i m i t a t i n g th o s e s c e p t i c s who d o u b t f o r th e sak e o f d o u b tin g . . . on th e c o n t r a r y , my w hole o b j e c t was a lw a y s to a c h ie v e c e r t a i n t y . . . 21
By em p lo y in g t h i s a p p a r e n tly c r i t i c a l m ethod he fo u n d t h a t t h e r e was one t h i n g t h a t he c o u ld n o t d o u b t - h i s own e x i s t e n c e .
B ut t h e n , im m e d ia te ly , a s I s t r o v e t o t h i n k o f e v e r y t h in g a s f a l s e , I r e a l i z e d t h a t , i n t h e v e r y a c t o f t h i n k i n g e v e r y th in g f a l s e , I was aw are o f m y s e lf a s so m e th in g r e a l ; and o b s e r v in g
2 0 . Rene D e s c a r te s . The D is c o u rs e on Method and O th e r W r i t i n g s . H arm ondsw orth. I 9 6 0 , p . 4 0 .
t h a t th e t r u t h : I t h i n k , t h e r e f o r e I am, was so f ir m and so a s s u r e d t h a t th e m ost e x t r a v a g a n t arg u m e n ts o f th e s c e p t i c s w ere in c a p a b le o f s h a k in g i t , I c o n c lu d e d t h a t 1 m ig h t have no s c r u p le in t a k i n g i t a s t h a t f i r s t p r i n c i p l e o f p h ilo s o p h y f o r w hich I was lo o k in g . 22
When D e s c a r te s r e f l e c t e d on t h i s ’t r u t h 1, he came t o th e c o n c lu s io n t h a t i t s c e r t a i n t y was g u a r a n te e d by h i s a b i l i t y t o p e r c e iv e i t c l e a r l y and d i s t i n c t l y . He t h e r e f o r e a s s e r t e d t h a t th e c r i t e r i o n o f know ledge was
23
c l a r i t y an d d i s t i n c t n e s s o f p e r c e p t i o n . The r o a d t o know ledge la y i n a s s e n t i n g o n ly t o th o s e p r o p o s i t i o n s w hich w ere c l e a r l y and d i s t i n c t l y t r u e and t o p r o c e e d by d e d u c tio n from t h e s e t o o t h e r t r u t h s .
Not u n e x p e c te d ly he to o k m a th e m a tic a l p r o p o s i t i o n s a s t h e p a ra d ig m s o f c e r t a i n k n o w led g e. I n t h e w ords o f I s a i a h B e r l i n , m a th e m a tic s w as, in D e s c a r t e s ' v ie w , a " l u c i d , r i g o r o u s , i r r e f u t a b l e " d i s c i p l i n e
i n w hich fro m u n d e n ia b le p r e m is e s and by means o f l o g i c a l s t e p s , you a r r i v e a t c o n c l u s i o n s w hich a r e e q u a l ly i n d e s t r u c t i b l e : a m a g n if ic e n t s t r u c t u r e o f u n b r e a k a b le , lu m in o u s , r a t i o n a l a r g u m e n t . .. 24
I n th e o p in i o n o f D e s c a r t e s h i s t o r y d i d n o t com pare v e ry f a v o u r a b l y . Were i t s p r o p o s i t i o n s t r u e by r e a s o n o f t h e i r c l a r i t y and d i s t i n c t n e s s ? D id i t p ro c e e d fro m s im p le t o more com plex t r u t h s by d e d u c tiv e m e th o d s. O b v io u sly
i t d id n o t .
The p r o p o s i t i o n s o f h i s t o r y t h e r e f o r e d id n o t m eet th e c r i t e r i a o f know ledge l a i d down by D e s c a r t e s . The h i s t o r i a n ’ s c la im s to know ledge w ere n o t o n ly v a i n ; th e y c o u ld n o t be a n y th in g e l s e b u t v a i n . Knowledge
in an h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t was t h e r e f o r e an i m p o s s i b i l i t y . The b e l i e f t h a t h i s t o r y c o u ld a s s i s t one in th e r e g u l a t i o n o f o n e 's d a i l y a f f a i r s w as, a c c o r d i n g l y , a m is ta k e n o n e . The o n ly s e r v i c e t h a t h i s t o r y c o u ld p r o v id e was a c e r t a i n b a la n c e f o r th e m ind:
I t i s good t o know so m e th in g a b o u t th e m anners and cu sto m s o f