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That is all that was certain for Descartes; everything else might have been a dream or deception.”

Complete rubbish.

There is plenty of certainty in Descartes...that’s sort of his whole point. It’s just that he wants to obtain certainty beginning on a firm foundation. He only doubts as a starting point, then begins anew.

Now...obviously...you can say that his certainties (which include, incidentaly, some of Newton’s laws....) are not grounded or do not follow. Or you can say that IN EFFECT as a matter of history that his beginning point brought about uncertainty.

But it’s simply wrong to say that Descartes had only one point of certainty.

This is half-assed philosophy. And it’s not helpful.

Incidentally, Descartes also sought the help of a Catholic seminary in his day to try to help him think about truth. He made a very eloquent plea, in fact, and if you read his letter it seems to be in good faith. He was ignored. So he gave it a shot on his own. And this is what he came up with.

So he was ignored then, and he is only partially read today. Very unhelpful.

You are confusing Descartes with his philosophy. Marx once said that he was not a marxist. The man is more than his philosophy. But the Philosophy lives on and its idealism morphs into something else. No longer method but a truth in itself. Something of the same happens with Hobbes. His philosophy is born of his exposure to an awful war. (Cromwell’s savagery in Ireland is much underplayed), But we than have Hume and in reaction the idealism of Kant, then Hegel, and then German atheism, made flesh by the followers of Marx and in reaction, by Hitler and, I dare say by the “Christian” Democracy of true EU.

Agreed. In order to counter the initial doubt Descartes made the point that a loving God would not create a world where his people were completely befuddled or deluded, and then followed up with three proofs for the existence of God.

Philosophers of the day found his doubts quite compelling, but not so much his proofs. The blowback from Cogito Ergo Sum seems to have been the unintended consequence of a well-intentioned Christian.

Very true what you say.

Descartes work was all about finding a defense of reality of what undeniably exists.

So, though the author is wrong in blaming Descartes for our departure from reality into delusion, he’s correct in saying that it has happened especially in academia.

Not to worry, though, reality will sooner than later get its revenge.