Title
The Sacrament of Being: An Attempt to Reconcile Cartesian Metaphysics with the Doctrine of Eucharistic Transubstantiation
Conference Level
Undergraduate
Location
University of Windsor
Start Date
March 2015
End Date
March 2015
Abstract
The Sacrament of Being: An Attempt to Reconcile Cartesian Metaphysics with the Doctrine of Eucharistic Transubstantiation.
ABSTRACT
In 1988, Steven Nadler claimed that “the question of the real presence proved to be the most serious difficulty for seventeenth-century Cartesianism.”[1] With this doctrinal difficulty in mind, it is often hard to gauge whether Descartes himself or other early modern Cartesians were genuinely committed to defending the dogmatic elements of the Catholic faith. Many of them simply adopted an attitude of appeasement toward the Holy Office. Initially, this creates a skeptical reading of Descartes’ Eucharistic texts. If he did not genuinely believe, perhaps his arguments are, at best, attempts at appeasement and, at worst, fraudulent. This paper, however, will attempt to give a Cartesian account of transubstantiation, not in order to challenge the Thomistic account, but to enlarge the possibilities for understanding the sacred mysteries. The traditional metaphysical language that surrounds the Eucharist easily creates a barrier for those seeking to understand the doctrine. Perhaps a Cartesian account of the sacrament will lessen that barrier by employing a language that is more accessible in everyday speech, or at the very least create a new forum for discussion. The ultimate hope is that more of the faithful may take part in the critical exploration of the doctrines of the faith. This investigation will examine first the metaphysical implications of the Council of Trent’s definition of Eucharist transubstantiation in the Decree Concerning the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist (1551) and then seek to give a Cartesian account of the dogma. This account will engage what Descartes himself said about the Eucharist in a series of letters to Mesland (2 May 1644, 9 Feb 1645, 1645/1646, May 1645), a letter to Clerselier (2 March 1646), an unaddressed letter (circa March 1646), and in his Reply to the Fourth Set of Objections (1641). Finally, this paper will attempt to engage some of Descartes’ other correspondence, and the main body of his philosophical works (Discourse on Method (1637), Meditations (1641), Principles of Philosophy (1644), etc.) in order to arrive at a Cartesian account of transubstantiation that does not merely seek to appease the Church, but one that is solid and sincere.
[Word Count: 375]
[1] Steven M. Nadler, “Arnauld, Descartes, and Transubstantiation: Reconciling Cartesian Metaphysics and Real Presence,” Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Apr. – Jun., 1988): 246.
The Sacrament of Being: An Attempt to Reconcile Cartesian Metaphysics with the Doctrine of Eucharistic Transubstantiation
University of Windsor
The Sacrament of Being: An Attempt to Reconcile Cartesian Metaphysics with the Doctrine of Eucharistic Transubstantiation.
ABSTRACT
In 1988, Steven Nadler claimed that “the question of the real presence proved to be the most serious difficulty for seventeenth-century Cartesianism.”[1] With this doctrinal difficulty in mind, it is often hard to gauge whether Descartes himself or other early modern Cartesians were genuinely committed to defending the dogmatic elements of the Catholic faith. Many of them simply adopted an attitude of appeasement toward the Holy Office. Initially, this creates a skeptical reading of Descartes’ Eucharistic texts. If he did not genuinely believe, perhaps his arguments are, at best, attempts at appeasement and, at worst, fraudulent. This paper, however, will attempt to give a Cartesian account of transubstantiation, not in order to challenge the Thomistic account, but to enlarge the possibilities for understanding the sacred mysteries. The traditional metaphysical language that surrounds the Eucharist easily creates a barrier for those seeking to understand the doctrine. Perhaps a Cartesian account of the sacrament will lessen that barrier by employing a language that is more accessible in everyday speech, or at the very least create a new forum for discussion. The ultimate hope is that more of the faithful may take part in the critical exploration of the doctrines of the faith. This investigation will examine first the metaphysical implications of the Council of Trent’s definition of Eucharist transubstantiation in the Decree Concerning the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist (1551) and then seek to give a Cartesian account of the dogma. This account will engage what Descartes himself said about the Eucharist in a series of letters to Mesland (2 May 1644, 9 Feb 1645, 1645/1646, May 1645), a letter to Clerselier (2 March 1646), an unaddressed letter (circa March 1646), and in his Reply to the Fourth Set of Objections (1641). Finally, this paper will attempt to engage some of Descartes’ other correspondence, and the main body of his philosophical works (Discourse on Method (1637), Meditations (1641), Principles of Philosophy (1644), etc.) in order to arrive at a Cartesian account of transubstantiation that does not merely seek to appease the Church, but one that is solid and sincere.
[Word Count: 375]
[1] Steven M. Nadler, “Arnauld, Descartes, and Transubstantiation: Reconciling Cartesian Metaphysics and Real Presence,” Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Apr. – Jun., 1988): 246.