Wonderful article. Thanks for posting. So ironic—I defended Descartes fiercely versus Hume (who’s probably just too wrong to defend under any conditions) in one course and completely missed Descartes’ own massive failure. He really had put the cart before the horse—inside-out reasoning, truly the bane of modern society.
Rene Descartes walks into a bar.
A horse walks into a bar.
The bartender says: "I thought the horse came before Descartes."
Rene Descartes is sitting at the bar.
The bartender asks him: Will you be having a drink?
Rene Descartes says "I think not" and disappears.