Descartes Pre Modernity

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Recommended: Characteristic of the middle age

This essay will focus on discussing the way people used to live and the beliefs they had about God being the creator and controller of the universe during the middle ages or the pre modern times by first describing what pre modernity is then following with the dynamics of that time. This essay will then discuss Descartes the father of modernity together with some other contributing philosophers, and how he changed the beliefs of the middle ages prior to the way in which people now see themselves as subjects which can give meaning to objects and are free to choose whatever meaning they want to give to themselves and their surroundings.
Before Descartes people understood themselves as God’s creatures. This belief arose from the burden of choice which we all go through when we try to define ourselves. When considering the middle ages or pre modernity, which is the long historical period prior to enlightenment, it is seen as a period characterised by religious faith, social hierarchy and political systems based upon aristocracy and the dominance of agricultural production in the economy Kelly and Dreyfus (2011), in the Christian west, peoples identities were determined by God, regardless of whether there was or was no God Kelly and Dreyfus (2011).
People could not help but to experience themselves as determined or created by God Kelly and Dreyfus (2001), so much that it never crossed their mind that identity could be determined in any other way Kelly and Dreyfus (2011). God controlled the structure of the society in that, the Kings and Queens ruled by divine right meaning God chose them specifically to be the rulers of society Kelly and Dreyfus (2011). This structure incorporated everyone in that all people fell into a place in societ...

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...le, which brought modernity; people started having doubts about God and stared seeing themselves as subjects and givers of meaning to themselves and the objects surrounding them thus bringing this essay to an end.

1. Winfield,R.D. (2007). Modernity, Religion and the war on terror. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.
2. Dubey,A.P. (2008). Modernity and the problem of cultural identity. New Delhi: Northern Book Centre Publications
3. Ferguson,H. (2000). Modernity and subjectivity. New York: University press
4. Schouls,A.P. (1989). Descartes and the enlightenment. United Kingdom: University Press.
5. Gilspie,M.A. (2008). The theological origins of modernity. Chicago: University Press.
6. Broughton.J., & Carriero,J. (2011). Blackwell companion to philosophy. United Kingdom: University Press.
7. Dreyfus,H., & Kelly,S.D. (2011). All things shining. New York

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