Emily Shrem
PHIL 2101
Professor Slack
November 1st, 2017
Assignment Two: Descartes
Rene Descartes was a mathematician, a physicist and most importantly, a philosopher. He was one of the first to spread modern philosophy and did so by using accepted scientific knowledge. He is famous for his proposition, “cogito ergo sum”, which in English translates to “I think therefore I am.”
In Descartes’ Meditation on First Philosophy, he takes on a few tasks to come to his ultimate conclusion. He uses the Method of Doubt to get rid of all his preexisting ideas and beliefs that could be false. Then he has his beliefs that can no way be false and he discovers a type of knowledge. He proves that the mind is distinct from the body, proves the existence of …show more content…
He depends on his sensory perceptions like touch, taste, sight, scent as well as sound. Descartes gets a piece of wax, fresh from a honey comb. He describes it in detail using his sensory perceptions, one by one. After explaining the wax, he goes on to melt it. Now all the qualities that were once familiar to us about that wax are completely gone. Something that one would recognize as wax once before was now turned into something entirely different. In order for one to know how to discover what that wax has become they have to understand that the wax could appear differently based on its physical state. The wax is not defined by the way it appears to human senses, but rather just the way it is presented to us. The wax is something changeable and flexible. One can not perceive all the possible ways a piece of wax can present itself …show more content…
Many people believe in things just because they were taught to believe in them. Few people actually question and step outside the box to actually understand things on their own. Even with mathematical equations. People accept them as true and do not doubt them. Descartes shows that just because one knows something as true does not necessarily mean it is. With the wax, one can not be certain what it is just based off its physical properties and the way it appears. One can not understand an object based off how it feels or looks. Descartes knew the nature of his own mind better because he knew one hundred percent that he existed in this universe in a specific time and place. One can never be sure of the objects and ideas that they are surrounded
PHIL 2101
Professor Slack
November 1st, 2017
Assignment Two: Descartes
Rene Descartes was a mathematician, a physicist and most importantly, a philosopher. He was one of the first to spread modern philosophy and did so by using accepted scientific knowledge. He is famous for his proposition, “cogito ergo sum”, which in English translates to “I think therefore I am.”
In Descartes’ Meditation on First Philosophy, he takes on a few tasks to come to his ultimate conclusion. He uses the Method of Doubt to get rid of all his preexisting ideas and beliefs that could be false. Then he has his beliefs that can no way be false and he discovers a type of knowledge. He proves that the mind is distinct from the body, proves the existence of …show more content…
He depends on his sensory perceptions like touch, taste, sight, scent as well as sound. Descartes gets a piece of wax, fresh from a honey comb. He describes it in detail using his sensory perceptions, one by one. After explaining the wax, he goes on to melt it. Now all the qualities that were once familiar to us about that wax are completely gone. Something that one would recognize as wax once before was now turned into something entirely different. In order for one to know how to discover what that wax has become they have to understand that the wax could appear differently based on its physical state. The wax is not defined by the way it appears to human senses, but rather just the way it is presented to us. The wax is something changeable and flexible. One can not perceive all the possible ways a piece of wax can present itself …show more content…
Many people believe in things just because they were taught to believe in them. Few people actually question and step outside the box to actually understand things on their own. Even with mathematical equations. People accept them as true and do not doubt them. Descartes shows that just because one knows something as true does not necessarily mean it is. With the wax, one can not be certain what it is just based off its physical properties and the way it appears. One can not understand an object based off how it feels or looks. Descartes knew the nature of his own mind better because he knew one hundred percent that he existed in this universe in a specific time and place. One can never be sure of the objects and ideas that they are surrounded