René Descartes

History has a tendency of repeating itself. Norms and laws may change, but viewpoints tend to fluctuate between being optimistic and pessimistic. This can be traced throughout humanity, with some decades being notably prosperous and optimistic and others being much more difficult and pessimistic. However, there are two periods in humanity that can be compared to on many different aspects and topics, with one of those topics focusing on human nature and epistemology. More specifically, whether…

It would not have been possible without understanding calculus. Isaac Newton would not have created calculus if it weren’t for Rene Descartes’ understanding of algebra and geometry. This understanding was only possible because of arab world, which salvaged and passed on what mathematical knowledge the ancient greeks once possessed. Everyone drew from the knowledge of others, and from it…

challenges to Descartes’ position; such as the ontological reduction of the mind to the brain proposed by Mind-Brain Identity Theory. Descartes’ is known for his enlightenment, rationalist philosophy. Perhaps his most significant theory is his modern adaptation of Plato’s doctrine of antitheses. Plato supposed that the body belongs to the physical universe made of imperfect changing material, whereas the mind/soul exists in a metaphysical realm made of perfect ideas. Similarly, Descartes claims…

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…

René Descartes was a modern philosopher and was dualist. He wrote The Mediations of First Philosophy in 1641. In his arguments he expresses his believes of two substances, which are Res Cogitans and Res Extensa. He will also, give you arguments about how he concluded that god existed, and will use god in his argument to show how it is possible for corporeal things to exist, as well as introduce you the mind and body problem. Descartes will at one-point doubt everything, even his existence, which…

Rene Descartes’ statement, “I at least know for certain that nothing is certain” perfectly illustrates the multiple problems that arise when all rational beings realize that their senses can deceive them and that the very foundation of their knowledge is based on the assumption that everything they encounter is real. Thankfully, being aware of the problem is the first step in solving it. The juxtaposition of Rene Descartes and William Shakespeare reveals a difference of opinion when they set…

who we are. The “mind” is really just the brain – a physical thing. In this paper I will talk about Churchland’s arguments against Cartesian dualism, what she thinks the true connections between the brain and body is, and what her opinion is on Descartes’ method of skepticism. Churchland rejects Cartesian dualism with four arguments. Her first argument is that Cartesian dualism is not supported by evolutionary biology, chemistry, and physics (Churchland, 305). Those three predominant sciences…

on many themes, one of the issues philosophy contends is the understanding how mind and body are related. Rene Descartes, a father of philosophical ideology devised “The Argument from Introspection” to attempt to answer such question. The argument from introspection explains that the mind and body are two entirely separate states and therefore cannot be identical to one another. Descartes’ rationale behind the argument is that the body is separable because it can be physically transformed such…

Philosophy 001 Project 3: Descartes 1) Cartesian dualism refers to the philosophical view proposed by the French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes that describes and explains the relationship of the mind and body. According to this philosophical view, the Mind and the Body are two completely separate and different substances capable of interacting with one another. Descartes asserted that “[that is, [the] mind, by which I am what I am], is entirely and truly distinct from [the] body,…

Divine mediation is the glue that holds together the morality of Antigone in Sophocles play of the same name, but the divine law of life is not as territorial as Creon’s man-made interventions. The central conflict of Antigone is between this moral divide of man or god and which one accounts for society. From the conflict analysis presented by Professor Francisco J. Gonzalez, Walter Kaufmann’s defense of the essential Greek tragedy in the case of Antigone provides a clearer perspective that both…