Ann Beatriz Madid

Rene Descartes Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was not only one of the most prominent philosophers of the 17th century but in history of Western philosophy. Often referred to as the “father of modern philosophy”, Descartes profoundly influenced the European thought with his writings. Probably best known for his statement “Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am), the philosopher started the school of rationalism which broke with the scholastic Aristotelianism in two ways. Firstly, Descartes rejected the mind-body dualism, arguing that matter (the body) and intelligence (the mind) are two independent substances (metaphysical dualism) and secondly, he rejected the final causal model of explaining natural phenomena and replaced it with science-based observation and experiment. He spent a major part of his life in conflict with scholastic approach which still dominated the thought in the early 17th century and trying to convince the Churchly authorities that the new sciences are not ch...

The Art of Self-Mastery By: Ann Beatriz Madid           “You struggle with your demons and you conquer them.” That is a quote from Kinky Friedman. How genuine is this? And how valuable is its message? In this world, where everything bad is inevitable, how can we reach our goals if we can’t control the world itself? Maybe the world isn’t the one to be controlled. Rather, it is ourselves that need to be taken authority of. Like the wheel in a car, we drive to reach our intended destinations. The engine of the car is our roots, our real character and our soul. It is the one that could either push us to reach our goal or pull us back to our unchallenged world. The car itself is our body. It is our responsibility to design it. Just as how we project ourselves in front of everyone. Are we presentable? Are we unorganized? And last, the wheel is how we take control of ourselves. It answers the questions of what, how and why. What do we d...