Meditation

taken here at P.G.C.C. Throughout this introduction to Philosophy course, I have learned so many things that I can actually relate to (The Allegory of the Cave, The Apology, Classical antiquity, Christian-based philosophy and Descartes Metaphysical Meditation) etc. In this essay, I would be discussing the three topics that I consider to be more important to me and how they can be related to my life. The Allegory of the Cave: At the beginning of the semester, I learned about The Allegory of The…

in the 1600s, it seems to have picked up fire. It was during this time that scientific study increased and discoveries that were being made went against what the church had said to be true; so, people began to question what else could be false. Meditations on First Philosophy by René Descartes discusses this topic and goes as far as outlining an argument as to why God is real. Descartes was writing at the same time of the scientific revolution and he even contributed to scientific discoveries.…

to abuse or discredit him, but instead, to elucidate the imperative role that the Meditations on First Philosophy play in all conversation about philosophy. Appropriately, the starting point of reading this book should be an understanding of what came before Descartes. Moreover, some familiarity with his Discourse on Methods might shine some light on the errors that were not repeated by Descartes in the Meditations. The background that forms both of these important works is Descartes taking…

In René Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, the author aims to create an unshakable foundation of metaphysics for the sciences. In doing so, the work’s meditator comes to conclude that he is a thinking substance distinct from material substance, and thus all mental substances are independent of corporeal bodies. Central to how this view explains conscious experience of sensing and perceiving external bodies is the interaction between the mental substance of the mind and corporeal…

In Descartes’ Meditations of First Philosophy, he spends the First Meditation rationalizing that the senses could be deceiving us and that they are not foundational beliefs (Descartes, pg.12). He later justifies that we do not view the essence or true nature of objects through the senses, but rather, through the intellect. However, he agrees that it was God who permits us the capacity of the senses and the involuntary use of them. So then why does God give us sensory perceptions? If the true…

will find, no matter what you are not alone. You will see how your family will affect you and what they bring to each day. You will see how your friends affect your day, and lastly you will see how outsider, or strangers will affect your day. In “Meditation 17” by John Donne, you can clearly see how his idea that “No man is and island” still stands strong today, through your family, friends and even strangers.…

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…

they can talk about what is real; similarly, in the subjective turn, Descartes reveals the idea that subjective experience is the most certain. He explains this in Meditations I and II by stating that the senses are deceptive, there is an evil deceiver, and his intellect can reveal to him what is real. Overall, as noticed in Meditations I and II, Rene Descartes impacted both an epistemological…

In “Meditations on First Philosophy: Second Meditation”, Descartes expands upon the doubting originated in the First Meditation, however his doubt is focused on the nature of his being. Descartes argument is that the mind and body are separate things, and that he can only consider himself a thinking thing. In this paper, I will argue that the body is part of the human nature and it is not human nature to be just a mind. Descartes begins his meditation by stating that he previously believed…

In this paper, I will explain Rene Descartes’ response from his Sixth Meditation to his dreaming argument from the First Meditation. Descartes’ Meditations are the processes of thinking that he attempted to create a stronger basis for our ways of thinking by doubting on various beliefs that are skeptical. In his Sixth Meditation, Descartes found an answer to his doubt and used that to refute his first premise of the dreaming argument. He knew that he could actually tell the different whether he…