1) Descartes uses a method commonly referred to as Methodical Doubt (beginning with a doubt in hopes of arriving at a given certitude). With this skepticism, Descartes questions the inherit nature of what it is to be. It is his initial perception, upon beginning his piece, again, with "methodical doubt", which the world may not exist, but may be a facet of an individual's imagination. However, he quickly contests this argument with his face phrase, "cogito ergo sum" which means "I think, therefore, I am"
I. The Arguments for Universal Doubt:
In order to show that science rested on firm foundations and that these foundations lay in the mind and not the senses, Descartes began by bringing into doubt all the beliefs that come to us from the senses. His aim in these arguments is not really to prove that nothing exists or that it is impossible for us to know if anything exists (he will prove that we can know external objects later), but to show that all our knowledge of these things......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 706
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |