Rene Descartes spent many years after receiving his formal education traveling
the world. He gathered experiences and fed his curiosity. Through his journeys, Descartes states his travels as ”an undertaking which was accompanied with greater success than it would have been had I never quitted my country or my books” (Descartes 6). Descartes obtained knowledge through first-hand experiences, such as listening to speakers and witnessing several different situations. That concept of gathering experience goes hand in hand with an idea from Jean Jacques Rousseau’s text “Emile.”

From the excerpt of “Emile” that we have read, Rousseau and Descartes have a similar idea. Rousseau states: “The child who reads cease to think, he only reads, he is acquiring words no knowledge” (Rousseau 14). In a sense, reading does not necessarily educate a reader. In fact, education and learning come in a different manner. If one  “wish[es] to teach this child geography and you provide him with globes, spheres and maps… why not begin by showing him the real thing so that he may at least know what you are talking about” (Rousseau 15). This differentiates knowledge obtained from books and what one can potentially learned from experience. It is one thing to know what a mountain is and define it, but it is another to see what a mountain is in person. The experiences are different, and it enhances your understanding of what a real mountain is. Only so much of the true experience can be conveyed by words.

In able to fully grasp an understanding, one must experience it personally, and I believe both philosophers agree on this statement. From the quotes of both Descartes and Rousseau, their points complement one another. Rousseau presents the idea of self-learning. We should learn from experience to truly understand a subject. Descartes is the proof of success of the theory. Descartes actually went traveled and learned. From Descartes’ studies, he found that: “For it occurred to me that I should find much more truth in the reasonings of each individual” (Descartes 6). With more validity and accuracy in personal accounts it leads to Rousseau’s argument:  “[we] will be a mere plaything of other people’s thoughts” (15). If we were to accept all the ideas of others, we would not be ourselves nor would we be learning.