The useful and clear rules of Descartes: an explanatory commentary

Abstract

In this paper we shall present an explanatory commentary on the first of the Rules for the Direction of the Mind by Descartes. This text is rightly considered as the most complete explanation of Cartesian method and was conceived in a century where there was a strong tendency for identifying the method – a Cartesian expertise – with Logic, severely criticized by Descartes. Our purpose is – in the long term – to research into the role of Logic in the modern age. The interpretive procedure we have chosen is to observe not only what the author asserts on Logic, but also – and mainly – how Descartes used it. Thus it may be possible in the future to describe accurately and in detail the characteristics of a theory consistent with Descartes’ argumentative practice. However, the content of this paper is not historical. It focuses mainly on aspects concerning the inner frame and the argumentative coherence of the analyzed text.