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Descartes Epistemology - 1696 Words
Epistemology ------------------------------------------------- Carefully explain Descartesââ¬â¢ cogito and his attempt to build his knowledge structure from the ground up. (Be as succinct as possible.) Does Descartes succeed or fail in that attempt? Justify your answer in full. Descartesââ¬â¢ Epistemology This essay attempts to explain Descartesââ¬â¢ epistemology of his knowledge, his ââ¬Å"Cogito, Ergo Sumâ⬠concept (found in the Meditations), and why he used it [the cogito concept] as a foundation when building his structure of knowledge. After explaining the concept I give a brief evaluation of his success in introducing and using this cogito as a foundation. Finally, I provide reasons why I think Descartes succeeded in his epistemology. The Firstâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦The argument, as Descartes presented, does not give a valid reason for the existence of the body or anything else in the physical world, so we cannot accept that bodies exist. Neither does the cogito account for the existence of other minds as that would entail knowledge of the physical world where other things exist. The cogito concept does however; give a valid argument for the existence of the mind or a thinking thing that exists independently of the body. In his novel Think, Blackburn explains the cogito concept as a means of justifying the core of oneââ¬â¢s existence as thinking, we accept that thought exists not a ââ¬Ëselfââ¬â¢ (Blackburn, 2001:20). I agree with Blackburn because his [Descartesââ¬â¢] concept serves well to prove that we exist as thinking things and even if we were to discard any a priori or a posteriori knowledge, we can still endorse the cogito. The cogito concept stands regardless of empirical knowledge beca use it suggests the existence of thought without actually linking it to the body (which constitutes a sort of empirical way of acquiring knowledge through the senses). In addition, it can be accepted without any a priori knowledge since Descartes only introduced it after concluding that he knew nothing, and could only accept knowledge of his own existence as vindicated. To assess Descartes choice of foundation I will raise some questions that implore an explanation regarding theShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Epistemology By Rene Descartes Essay1163 Words à |à 5 PagesRene Descartes believed that true knowledge could only be achieved by eliminating any beliefs that could possibly turn out to be false, and build a new system of knowledge on a foundation of beliefs whose truth could not be doubted. This way, we do not spend every moment of our day, day or our lives questioning everything; from the ground we step on to the air that we breathe. Our existence would be pointless if we had to spend every second of the day doubting our own thoughts, intuition, and experiencesRead More If A Tree Falls in the Philosophical Forest, Someone Managed to Undermine Descartes Ambitions for Epistemology 2257 Words à |à 10 Pagesindividuals like Renà © Descartes and his work, The Meditations, provide a deep exploration of knowledge and all its facets. For every individual or scholar this work is very important in that it causes the reader to consider what we assume as truth and to envision a foundation for knowledge that is indubitable. The aim of this paper is to consider the role of knowledge in epistemology, to expose the concept of an indubitable foundation for all knowledge and the overall influence of Descartes on the imminentRead MoreEthics and Morality in Philosophy Essay908 Words à |à 4 Pagesphilosophies had a profound effect on western political thought. 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Knowledge is having information, skills, facts and expertise regarding a particular concern or the world at general that increases the faculty of human beings. Well, in philosophy, Epistemology is theRead MoreOn My Way670 Words à |à 3 PagesRenà © Descartes was a famous French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. He was arguably known as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Descartes published many works of mathematics and philosophy throughout his life. In one of his most important works, Meditations on First Philosophy, he added a number of arguments for and against skepticism. Skepticism is the doubt about the truth of something and that absolute knowledge is not possible. Like past famous philosophers before him, Plato and ParmenidesRead MoreThe Philosophy Of Pessimism And Skepticism1328 Words à |à 6 PagesElliot Aronson, and the concepts of rationalism, according to Renà © Descartes. 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Socratesââ¬â¢ purpose in the dialogue becomes a discussion of epistemology, or the theory of knowledge and how it is obtained. Socrates
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