Cartesiuse

Cartesiuse is a multidisciplinary framework and project examining how Cartesian methods of doubt and rational justification can be integrated with practical decision‑making in AI, cognitive science, and law. The term fuses Descartes’ methodological skepticism with an emphasis on usable outcomes, seeking to determine when beliefs should be held, revised, or discarded.

Origins and scope: Proposed by a cross‑disciplinary group in the early 2020s, Cartesiuse aims to supply a toolkit for reasoning under uncertainty. It distinguishes epistemic justification from pragmatic utility, arguing that robust beliefs should survive skeptical scrutiny while remaining applicable in real‑world contexts.

Core principles: Start from methodological doubt; require transparent justification; separate reasoning from application; account for context and assumptions; ensure traceable argumentation; and balance formal rigor with practical usefulness.

Methodology: Practitioners articulate claims, identify assumptions, apply structured deduction and empirical checks, test robustness across contexts, and document the decision trace. Revisions are encouraged when new evidence or counterexamples emerge.

Applications and reception: Potential uses include AI safety and interpretability, legal reasoning, scientific hypothesis testing, and education. Critics warn that excessive doubt can impede progress and that consistent implementation across domains may be difficult.

See also: Cartesian method, Cartesian doubt, epistemology, pragmatism, rationalism.

Further reading: Emerging articles and conference discussions examine Cartesiuse’s definitions, methods, and limitations.