René Préval

substance dualism which is also known as mind-body dualism, the believe that the soul is able to live on without the presence of the physical substance, the body. In this essay I will describe and assess the argument of substance dualism postulated by Rene Descartes (1596-1650). My thesis is that Descartes’ argument for substance dualism is not very persuasive and Gilbert Ryle manages…

Christopher McLaughlin Paper 1, Page 1 Rene Descartes was a French Philosopher in the 16th century. This essay is will focus on his works in Mediations of First Philosophy most notably the first and second meditations, were Descartes begins his journey in riding his life of deceptive beliefs, and finds a point to build on the foundation of knowledge. Descartes became disturbed with the amount of false beliefs he had over time developed. He set out to (through meditation), to dissolve all…

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…

Descartes reasons for doubting his beliefs in meditations were because he wanted to prove a scientific method, he wanted to prove that true knowledge came from the mind and not in the sense. Descartes spent a lot of time separating the world into two substances using only the mind and body. He says science truth is made up of our body and religious truths deal with the soul and mind. His biggest question was can something be true if it can be doubted? He became a skeptic and started doubting…

Vermeer’s Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World, by Timothy Brook, sets out to explain how the world was transformed during the seventeenth century through a growing world market and expanding globalization between civilizations and cultures that either had not have contact or limited contact in the past. The book is organized into eight sections, each corresponding to a different piece of art created by Johannes Vermeer and other artists. Each of these sections covers a…

Most modern, Western citizens would not question the idea that they are a separate and autonomous being, completely independent and different in every way from their neighbor. When asked, some might answer that what makes them different is their personality, their soul, or their mind. The discrepancy lies in the fact that, between individuals, all of these can be similar. Does that imply that two individuals who are similar in personality have less of a ‘self’ than someone who is vastly…

How often do you consciously emphasize your language with metaphors? Now question how often you dare your mind to do the same? French philosopher Rene Descartes challenges the way people perceive themselves in his iconic metaphor “I think therefore I am,” which derives from his text The Discourse on Method. According to Descartes, convincing oneself of nothing in the world existing does not mean that one fails to exist. Concluding that the self must be convinced of “something” for this concept…

The Rights of women have definitely evolved over the past centuries. Women went from being treated as an object, not a person, to gaining many rights. They have evolved to be entitled to the right to vote, the right to work, the right to own land, and the basic fundamental rights that men have received. As the world becomes more modernized, women still want more rights, they want to be treated as an equal to men. In the United States, women want equal pay in the work force as men, when their…

Regarding the mind and body, we cannot say that materialism is correct because there is nothing to prove that the mind is not its own entity. Rather, the Cartesian Dualism view is a possible alternative as the mind is dependent on the body and vice versa. Paul Churchland raises several arguments against dualism and in order to evaluate his objections, it is crucial to understand the concepts of substance dualism as well as its opposite, materialism, and how they differ from one another.…

Rene Magritte Throughout the history of art, we as intellectuals have always searched for meaning behind the piece that has been created. While some artists convey a deep true meaning, there are others who dabble in the world or surrealism. Surrealism was a cultural movement that began in the early 1920’s, and aimed at expressing imaginative dreams and visions free from the conscious rational control (Dictonary.com). The purpose of surrealism was to resolve the previously contradictory…