Quote

[lithiumnature]

 "In some, or all of these respects, most modern philosophers have been, in effect, Cartesians. Now without wishing to return to scholasticism, it seems to me that modern science and modern logic requires us to stand upon a very different platform from this.

1. We cannot begin with complete doubt. We must begin with the prejudices which we actually have when we enter upon the study of philosophy. These prejudices are not to be dispelled by a maxim, for they are things which it does not occur to us can be questioned. Hence this initial scepticism will be a mere self-deception, and not real doubt; and no one who follows the Cartesian method will ever be satisfied until he has formally recovered all those beliefs which in form he has given up. It is, therefore, as useless a preliminary as going to the North Pole would be in order to get to Constantinople by coming down regularly upon a meridian. A person may, it is true, in the course of his studies, find reason to doubt what he began by believing; but in that case he doubts because he has a positive reason for it, and not on account of the Cartesian maxim. Let us not pretend to doubt in philosophy what we do not doubt in our hears."

- Peirce, from Some Consequences of Four Incapacities.

He also criticizes the following characteristic of Cartesianism: "The multiform argumentation of the middle ages is replaced by a single thread of inference depending often upon inconspicuous premises."

Peirce is so cool. :-)