Descartes' rationalist epidemiology
Rene Descartes is undoubtedly one of the most important thinkers in the field of philosophy. His thoughts on mind-body dualism spurred many debates and consequent theories. His work on Mediations on First Philosophy gives us a view of his ideas on our faculty of reason.
Descartes's Meditations strengthens the domain of rational epistemology by arguing that although our senses are valid as this is the only way by which we can gain information about the world, it is still the human mind which is capable of judgment at the end of the day. This is because our senses may deceive us. Meditations tells us that our faculty of reason is of paramount importance. Moreover, our faculty of reason is capable of judgment because it is rational and as epistemology would maintain, the way we should think; our proper reasoning -- it should entail logic and objectivity (Landauer & Rowlands, 2001).
The formulation Cogito ergo sum (I think therefore I am) is perhaps one of the most popular phrases not only in the range of Descartes' work but in the area of philosophy, by and large. This phrase talks about the first bit of knowledge in Descartes' philosophy, i.e. The existence of thinking self. This is "... The clearest, and best known substance for him [thinking individual]. Upon this foundation, Descartes builds all his other knowledge claims" (Hauptli, 2008, Chapter 27). The formulation argues that one's existence is deemed true the moment one raises its existence or this existence is conceived in human mind (Descartes in Newman, 2005). This does not necessarily hold that what exists is the substantial self as Descartes continues, "But I do not yet have a sufficient understanding of what this 'I' is, that now necessarily exists" (ibid, Chapter 4). Hence it can be inferred that the existence can hold as far as whatever I, the thinking thing, turns out to be (ibid).
References
Hauptli, B.W. (2008). Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Retrieved from www.fiu.edu/~hauptli/Locke'sEssayBookII.html. onMarch 7.
Landauer, J. & Rowlands, J. (2001). Epistemology. Retrieved from www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Epistemology_Main.html. onMarch 7.
Newman, L. (2005). Descartes' Epistemology. Retrieved at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/#4onMarch 7, 2009.
The fifth chapter turns from metaphysics to physics and applies his universal laws to scientific pursuits. The fifth chapter offers the reader one of the most challenging of applications, the superiority of man over beast, as the beast contains no soul, no reason and no thinking mind, and according to Descarts this is easily assumed because animals do not talk, therefore they do not reason and have no mind separate
However, there are numerous beliefs that his argument leaves unchallenged. When we dream, although the particular beliefs we form ("I am falling from an airplane.") are often false, the materials for our dream (airplanes, physical objects) come from things we experience when waking, and we can still rest assured that some of these things exist. Therefore, the dreaming argument leaves unchallenged our belief in general truths about the world
Descartes viewed that the whole of human knowledge was a tree, with each part relying on the others for the purposes of functioning - and, in a philosophical sense, validity. The tree's trunk was comparable to physics. The branches Descartes considered to be the applied sciences of morals, medicine, and mechanic. The roots of the tree provided support and nourishment to the whole of the system; these roots, Descartes
Magnitude or extension in length, breadth, or depth, I do so perceive; I have before remarked that it is only in judgments that falsity, properly speaking, or formal falsity, can be met with, a certain material falsity may nevertheless be found in ideas, i.e. when these ideas represent what is nothing as though it were something."(Descartes) On the contrary, through judgment or reason the material can be very well apprehended.
Rene Descartes: Why Psychology Cannot be a Science Like Physics The philosophies and concepts presented in Rene Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy illustrate several reasons why psychology cannot be a science like physics. These concepts include that truths are based on clear and distinct ideas, that the mind is not an object but a separate entity, that human psychology is a product of a reflex action between the mind and the
Descartes - Passions Descartes separated the functions of the mind from the functions of the "machine of the body," stating that the body operates more like the motions of a watch, which are produced merely by the inner springs and wheels (Article 16). He felt that there was nothing remaining within ourselves that could be attributed to the soul except for our thoughts, and these he felt could be further categorized
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