Teoria prawd wiecznych René Descartes’a
The theory of eternal truths by René Descartes

Summary/Abstract: The theory of eternal truths is one of the most complex problems in Descartes’ system. Therefore, in the first part of the article, the controversies concerning it, appearing among experts in his philosophy, were presented. In the second part, a synthetic elaboration of the doctrine of eternal truths itself was undertaken. Indirect mentions appearing in the major works of the French philosopher, and above all in his direct references to it in letters to his friends, were taken into account. The third part shows some of the difficulties associated with it in his texts.As a result of the conducted analyses, it has turned out that Descartes created an original theory of eternal truths that differs from its scholastic approaches. God has created eternal truths in a completely free way. Being determined by nothing, He has created: the essences of things, the laws of Nature, the principles of mathematics and geometry, and the principles of logic. Eternal truths are the metaphysical foundations of created beings. And being innate to the human mind they are its principles of cognition. The article emphasizes their general nature, and thus the need to refer to its sensory experience in cognition of the external world. Another important conclusion from the conducted analyses is the emancipation of physics from theology. Descartes, introducing the doctrine of created eternal truths into his system, placed the world outside of God.

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