Plato and Descartes: misology and method in the Phaedo and the Metaphysical meditations

Abstract

We could think that Descartes is a misologist if we did not understand that his doubt is merely methodological. It is for this reason that we can compare the analytical method used in the Metaphysical Meditations with the hypothetical method presented by Plato in the Phaedo. A comparison shows that both methods operate by establishing an initial hypothesis —a first statement— and then logically deducing what follows from it. Their common principle in metaphysical matters is to proceed from cause to effects, rather than the other way around.