Rationalism

This is the belief that it is not possible for there to be ideas in the mind that one is not aware of. Rationalists argued that once children grew up and developed mentally, they would be able to understand the innate ideas. For Locke, the idea that they have to be able to reason to understand and ideas that are supposed to be innate shows and strengthens his argument. This would, however, have to be based on the notion that innate ideas were conscious ideas. On the other hand, if these…

Always Trust Your Gut Instinct One of my most passionate beliefs is, “trust your gut.” Let your intuition (or as some of us call it, “our sixth sense”) guide you. If the thought of doing something does not feel right, don’t do it. As I grew older, it became more and more clear to me that the internal feeling I had about something seemed to always be right. This was not something I learned from any person of religious aspect in life. This is something I learned though experience (kicking myself…

Are ideas innate or not? First, I will present the debate on innate ideas as argued by Descartes on the affirmative, and John Locke on the negative. Descartes view that we do indeed have innate ideas which comes from his mediations concerning the idea of god. While Locke would argue that we do not have innate ideas and that is rooted in his belief that all knowledge is a result of our experiences. Descartes was a French philosopher who was a rationalist. Rationalists believe that all ideas…

2) a,b : This passage is taken from "What is Enlightenment", by Immanuel Kant, from the first page of the essay. Kant is criticizing the over dependence of a grown up individual for nurturing and caretaking and possibly resisting the responsibilities brought to him. He says these deficiencies are caused by laziness and cowardice. Kant states that enlightenment is a man freeing himself from self-imposed nonage. He moves on explaining the reasons why this nonage takes place, and then moves on…

In the tenth century fable, “The Case of the Animals versus Man Before the King of the Jinn” from the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity by the Brethren of Purity, the animals of the world sue and have a trial against the human race. While the king of the Jinn, who is basically the judge, listen to both the animal’s and human’s well- supported arguments.The humans point to many things such as their superior intellect to prove that they are the masters and the animals are the slaves. Although…

In the late fifth century B.C, the Greek philosopher Plato defined knowledge as “justified, true belief”. This proclamation assumes knowledge must be justified through ways of knowing in order to be classified as knowledge . So if for example a piece of information is perceived through sense perception such as the equation 1+1=2, it must then pass through a process of rational analysis before it can be classified as knowledge ( one may justify this by taking one unit of a facet and adding…

Ideas are defined as whatever is perceived or understood about something; despite this simple denotation, humankind 's capacity to acquire and understand these complex thoughts remains a controversy in philosophical literature. As major role models in the foundation of modern philosophy, Descartes and Locke feud over the definition of these ideas, the acquisition of these concepts, and the content of these thoughts. Descartes identifies with a rationalistic view where knowledge is based on…

Immanuel Kant is most notably known as the man whose ideas on morality have greatly shaped the landscape of Ethics. Perhaps most important is his concept of rational humans having inherent dignity, but is this philosophy still true today and if so is it still relevant in a society that has so many more facets in a world far more complex than the time he lived. By introducing and explaining Kant’s concept of inherent dignity and showing how some people or groups of people have been at the both a…

Central to the field of cognitive science lies the mind/body problem, which questions “the relationship between mental properties and physical properties,” (Robinson). The dualist argues that the mind and body are two separate entities and that the mind only exists within the body, specifically the brain. Thus, aligned with this belief, many dualists also hold rationalist views, or that one may gain knowledge via a priori experience. The rationalist believes that “there are significant ways…

In the third Meditation, René Descartes aims to offer an argument for the existence of God, based simply on what he knows with certainty. In this, he reviews his doubts, what he knows for certain, and what he no longer doubts. While arguing the existence of God, Descartes explores God as a possible deceiver, his capacity to overcome this doubt in God’s goodness through formal and objective realities, and how effects supremely rely on their ultimate cause. Through his various claims and…