Discourse on the Method is Descartes' attempt to explain his method of reasoning through even the most difficult of problems. He illustrates the development of this method through brief autobiographical sketches interspersed with philosophical arguments.
Part 1 contains "various considerations concerning the sciences." First, all people possess "good sense," the ability to distinguish truth from fiction. Therefore, it is not a lack of ability that obstructs people but their failure to follow the correct path of thought. The use of a method can elevate an average mind above the rest, and Descartes considered himself a typical thinker improved by the use of his method. Descartes benefited from a superior education, but he believed that book learning also clouded his mind. After leaving school, he set off traveling to learn from "the great book of the world" with an unclouded mind. He comes to the conclusion that all people have a "natural light" that can be obscured by education and that it is as important to study oneself as it is to study the world.
In part 2, Descartes describes his revelation in the "stove-heated room." Contemplating various subjects, he hits on the idea that the works of individuals are superior to those conceived by committee because an individual's work follows one plan, with all elements working toward the same end. He considers that the science he learned as a boy is likely flawed because it consists of the ideas of many different men from various eras. Keeping in mind what he has learned of logic, geometry, and algebra, he sets down the following rules: (1) to never believe anything unless he can prove it himself; (2) to reduce every problem to its simplest parts; (3) to always be orderly in his thoughts and proceed from the simplest part to the...