René Descartes

1) Rene Descartes a) Rene Descartes believes that things exist simply because he thinks, therefore he is. This is beautifully illustrated when he gives us the wax example. Before giving that example, Rene Descartes did state that our senses are deceptive and so is our imagination. If we were to go by that, does that mean we exist just because we perceive it through our senses? He concludes no. His explanation of existence is that he is just a “thing” which thinks and because of that he is the…

Rene Descartes and God’s Existence Rene Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician and a scientist in the seventeenth century. As a man of science, Descartes wanted to make discoveries in science as factual as mathematics. With Descartes’s faith, he did not eliminate God from philosophy. Descartes, “The Father of Modern Philosophy”, was a Catholic who wrote the Meditations on First Philosophy. “The Meditations is characterized by Descartes’s use of methodic doubt, a systematic procedure…

René Descartes: Meditation 1 René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. He was given the title of the “father of modern western philosophy”. Many of his writings are studied closely in today’s time. The purpose of most of his writings is what he cannot doubt. Many see philosophy as an opinion, and it is exactly that. You can state a point, have a reason behind it, and that is a philosophy. Throughout meditation one, beliefs, dreams, and senses are discussed.…

the truth and started to doubt the Church. The views of philosophers, such as Rene Descartes, became popular amongst the people. Rene Descartes was dissatisfied that philosophers before him had been unable to agree on what is true. His solution was to start over and doubt everything. Descartes believed that the only thing for certain: “I exist” and “I think therefore I am” (Guinan Enlightenment). Following Rene Descartes philosophy, many people in society began to doubt and believed that nothing…

once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” René Descartes. While it may be an easy feat for any modern day philosopher to realize they exist, it was not the case for one philosopher who sought to prove his existence. This philosopher, René Descartes existed around the early 1600’s and grew up in western France. One of the things Descartes is most known for would be his Meditations. These Meditations that Descartes created illustrate how he was able to tear down what he had…

In Meditations, Descartes gives us a very solid statement about his theory on what we might call the “Matrix.” This is an epistemological argument that dares to question nature, and the truth behind everything we know as humans. Descartes began to live by this epistemological theory that much of what we know about this world is adequate, but there is no such thing as the certain truth. In the movie titled, The Matrix, we see Descartes cogito ergo sum, or “I think, therefore I am” theory come…

known as the theory of knowledge, is a complicated study that is both difficult to understand and even more difficult to put into words. In Rene Descartes Meditations study, Descartes sets out on a mission to prove that truly knowing if something exists could only be reached if his own mind was cleansed and completely logical. In order to achieve this, Descartes must rid his mind of everything he knows and start with a clean slate. One of his most significant issues is his constant threat of…

Rene Descartes as a famous philosopher, mathematician and scientist in seventieth century has introduced a new method for recognising and distinguishing truth from untruth. Descartes believed that this method could be useful for every body since reason is same for all people. The aim of this essay is to demonstrate Descartes’ method in three parts. In the first part it will explain that what Descartes’ method is. In the second part, it will explain the philosophical meaning of this method. And…

Descartes did not believe that the information we receive through our senses is necessarily accurate. After the revelation he experienced on November 10, 1619, Descartes undertook his own intellectual rebirth. His first step was to throw out everything he thought he knew, refusing to believe in even the most basic premises before proving them to himself satisfactorily. In this act of demolition and reconstruction, Descartes felt it would be a waste of time to tear down each idea individually.…

substances do not appear to have the ability to causally interact because of their distinctly different properties. Descartes proposes that the minds may have locations in space-time, though no other material properties, and thus they can causally interact through their primitive relation – one that cannot be explained or reduced any further. This proposal conflicts with science because Descartes does not explain how non-spatial substances are able to causally interact in a given point in space.…