The Cartesian Method and Its Logic

This text examines the determining characteristics of Descartes' methodological way of thinking. The first concerns the little importance Descartes attributed to the demonstrative expedient and its absorption into acquiring knowledge. The second is that the Cartesian method is resolutive rather than deductive, with knowledge generated by solving difficulties and problems. The third refers to the constitutive stages of resolution, summarized by the operations of analysis and construction. The fourth relates to Descartes' use of the unknown so that an epistemic structure commanded by it generates knowledge. The fifth characteristic is that the method can be universalized, not only because of reason's unique way of operating but also because construction and resolution acquire determinations that can be adapted to the nature of the objects and the particularity of each domain.