Compare And Contrast Nicholas Of Causa And Rene Descartes

When it comes to Nicholas of Cusa and Rene Descartes and their ideas of the infinite, the differences are many while the similarities are few. Nicholas of Cusa, who lived from 1401 to 1464, recognized the open-ended, positive aspect of nature which later led him to view the infinite as a never-ending circle; a changing and developing circle that is. In contrast, Rene Descartes, who lived from 1596 to 1650, struggled with trusting whether or not the world even exists outside of the private ego—to him, the two were blended. Descartes, later, came to the conclusion to use his own knowledge in proving certain aspects of the infinite, which would, in a way, strengthen his arguments. Despite their different approaches and ideas, in general, of the infinite, these two philosophers came to find important realizations of human nature and the world around them. …show more content…
In the end result, is the idea that the circle “is a figure of how we may think beyond limited things toward the transcendent One” (Miller). Cusa puts a large emphasis on the transition from individualism to God and the relationship from God to the universe in it’s entirety. In terms of the universe, Cusa views it as being infinite, but in the sense of it being unbounded physically, it is forever growing and continuing (Miller). Within the infiniteness of the universe, is the infinite value placed on God. Since God created individuals, those individuals are the images of God, so they too, share a certain value among themselves. Of course, individuals, humans, do not have a divine perfection like God, but since they come from God, they possess a certain amount of potential and significance amongst