Descartes
Rene Descartes was one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the philosophy. Born in 1596, he lived to become a great mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. In fact, he became one of the central intellectual figures of the sixteen hundreds. He is believed by some to be the father of modern philosophy, although he was hampered by living in a time when other prominent scientists, such as Galileo, were persecuted for their discoveries and beliefs. Although this probably had an impact on his desire to publish controversial material, he went on to devise works such as the Meditations on First Philosophy and the Principles of Philosophy Aside from these accomplishments, his most important and lasting mathematical work was the invention of analytic geometry. It seems that the underlying point of Descartes's philosophy is to specify exactly what it is that we are sure we know. Understanding Descartes' philosophy begins with understanding his method of doubt. Think about it like this. Almost everything you believe to be true comes from the senses or through the senses. However, the senses are sometimes deceptive. Since the senses are not completely trustworthy, it is irrational to place complete trust in them.
The next part of Descartes philosophy deals with his belief that the mind and body are separate. Although the origins of the philosophical separation of mind and body, called dualism, can be traced back as far as the Greek philosophers, and probably before them, Descartes was the first person to write a systematic account of it. Now, Descartes wanted to prove two more things. One, that he actually was an immaterial thing, and two, that there is in fact an external corporeal world Descartes first attempt to prove that God exists is in Meditation Three. Descartes has come to the conclusion that he is a thinking thing based on the simple fact that he clearly and distinctly perceives that he is one. Therefore, using induction, he is able to state as a general rule that everything he clearly and distinctively perceives must be true. Now, Descartes says that he has an idea of God as a perfect, infinite substance. Now, Descartes states that the level of formal reality of the cause of an idea must be at least as great as the level of objective reality in the idea itself. By this logic, I as a finite substance could not possibly cause the idea of an infinite substance. In fact, the only being whose formal reality is large enough to produce the idea of a perfect, infinite substance is a being which is a perfect, infinite substance. Hence, there exists a being which is a perfect, infinite substance, which is my idea of God. So God exists. Descartes wants to show that "nothing can be perceived more easily and more evidently than my own mind." He starts of with an example of a piece of wax. It seems that this piece of wax, or any corporeal thing for that matter, is more distinctly known by me than exactly what it is that I
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Approximate Word count = 1173
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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