mathematician‚ René Descartes (1596-1650)‚ published Discourse on Method‚ Optics‚ Geometry‚ and Meteorology in which he maintains that he had established two universal criteria to distinguish animals and machines from humans‚ and thus those entities without souls from those with. His criteria are the entity must have the capacity for speech and act from knowledge. His justifications that machines do not meet these two criteria are sound; however‚ he fails to verify that animals do the same. Descartes’ argument
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Both Descartes and Berkeley had a thesis of mediate perception. These theses however‚ were not the same. The difference‚ you see‚ is in how they perceive physical objects. Descartes develops a somewhat realist view in his meditations while Berkeley argues that his non-realist perception can sufficiently account for anything a realist would be able to with their system of philosophy. Essentially‚ Berkeley states that what Descartes believes as corporeal is simply a false understanding of the ideas
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stranded on an island. John Locke would agree with these events because no government (State Of Nature)‚ CIvilization‚ and Ralph and his boys trying to create a new government. When Ralph and his boys got to the island they had no government. John Locke would agree because of his first law State Of Nature‚ which connects with the boys when they arrive. Ralph was civilized and became the leader. When Ralph blew the conch that civilized his leadership of his boys. John Locke would agree as Ralph being
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Montesquieu and Locke share a similar opinion that sovereign power needed to be limited to a certain extent. They differed in how they approached the conversation and they differed in their conclusion of what government would be most beneficial to a nation. Locke believed that the natural rights of the people limited the power of the sovereign. Locke went into detail about the impact nature and property rights have in guiding a society. Overall Locke discusses how equality is the central focus of
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The battle between Hobbes and Locke still continues today through their influence on governments and how they believed government should work. Hobbes believed in an absolute monarch where they were to demand obedience in order to maintain order. On the other hand‚ John Locke thought that a Democracy was a better form of government provided that they had the right information to make. This form of government allows the people to keep their natural rights rather than giving them up in exchange for
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Rene Descartes was a rationalist‚ meaning he thought that reason alone‚ not sensation or experience‚ was the source to attaining knowledge about the eternal truths of the universe‚ such as mathematics‚ epistemology‚ metaphysics and the existence of God. He excluded physics from this list‚ admitting that knowledge of physics only comes through experience (Descartes). Regardless‚ his rationalistic epistemology made it so that Descartes could only accept the truth about something if it was based upon
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There are three standard ways in which we apply the word “know”: 1. I know who a person is‚ 2. I know how to do something‚ and 3. I know that something is the way it is. The third of the previously listed kinds of knowledge is the propositional case: “I know that” is followed by a proposition. For example‚ “I know that I am now typing up my précis”. Hospers discusses the propositional condition of knowledge. There are three essential components to propositional knowledge: truth‚ belief‚ and
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David Hume’s thoughts on Empiricism One of the most notable figures in the history of western philosophy was Scottish philosopher David Hume. Hume was widely known for his views on Empiricism. Empiricism has been pondered since the beginnings of philosophy by many famous figures‚ from Aristotle to John Locke. (Wikipedia) Empiricism claims that human knowledge is founded on observation and use of the five senses. Hume published a literary work titled Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. This
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John Locke was born on August 29‚ 1632‚ in Warington‚ a village in Somerset‚ England. In 1646 he went to Westminster school‚ and in 1652 to Christ Church in Oxford. In 1659 he was elected to a senior studentship‚ and tutored at the college for a number of years. Still‚ contrary to the curriculum‚ he complained that he would rather be studying Descartes than Aristotle. In 1666 he declined an offer of preferment‚ although he thought at one time of taking up clerical work. In 1668 he was elected a fellow
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Defends Rationalism Plato was a highly educated Athenian Philosopher. He lived from 428-348 B.C. Plato spent the early portion of his life as a disciple to Socrates‚ which undoubtedly helped shape his philosophical theories. One topic that he explored was epistemology. Epistemology is the area of philosophy that deals with questions concerning knowledge‚ and that considers various theories of knowledge (Lawhead 52). Plato had extremely distinct rationalistic viewpoints. Rationalism is the
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