Philosophy and Literature 253 Midterm Exam October 7 2012 “Oh‚ Jupiter‚ a robot Descartes!” Asimov’s short story “Reasons” in I‚ Robot is the fictional account of a robots creation of his own path of reasoning. Much like Descartes‚ the Robot‚ Cutie‚ is curious about the truth of his existence and plans to find the answers out for himself. Cutie is a self-aware‚ reasoning robot on a station in space in the year 2015‚ and all he knows are the things in his immediate surrounding‚ which isn’t much
Premium Existence Truth Metaphysics
Descartes method of doubt is his personal quest for certainty in knowledge‚ a system that allows us to find a way to be assured that what we feel we “know” is not just a figment of his imagination but an infallible truth. The motivation for his method of doubts begins as a question of the possibility that all his thoughts could be false on the basis that he has had many false beliefs before and could possibly have formed more false beliefs with a fabricated base‚ and that in order to have stable
Premium Epistemology Skepticism Truth
Descartes views in the Second Meditation is that he tries to clarify precisely what this “I” is‚ this “thing that he thinks.” He concludes that he is not only something that thinks‚ understands‚ and wills‚ but is also something that imagines and senses. Even though he thinks he may be dreaming or deceived by an evil demon‚ he’s still something that can imagine‚ hear‚ and see things. His sensory perceptions may not be truthful‚ but they are certainly a part of the same mind that thinks. He believes
Premium Mind Epistemology Metaphysics
to the question‚ what makes certain obtained pieces of knowledge true? Descartes would doubt everything until he came to an absolute and undeniable truth. If he had any reason to doubt something‚ it could not be true knowledge. Descartes then discovered one thing that he could not doubt and that is “I think‚ therefore I am.” He says that if he can think‚ then he knows that he exists. I agree and disagree with Rene Descartes theory of how we have knowledge. Just because you have doubt about something
Free Knowledge Epistemology Mind
Descartes proves that God exists in his third meditation. He proves that God exists because he wants to be certain about things outside of himself. But‚ he cannot be certain of these things if he is ignorant about the existence of God. This is because if a supreme God exists‚ he could cause Descartes to be mistaken in the one avenue to certainty that he has. This avenue is known as clear and distinct perception‚ and‚ according to Descartes‚ it is what is necessary to be certain about a thing. However
Premium Ontology Metaphysics Mind
Running head: DESCARTES INFLUENCE ON PSYCHOLOGY Descartes Influence on Psychology DESCARTES INFLUENCE ON PSYCHOLOGY René Descartes was a famous French mathematician‚ scientist‚ and philosopher throughout the mid 1600’s. He is often regarded as the father of modern philosophy; however‚ his highly influential ideas have also impacted many other scientific fields‚ including the world of psychology. Descartes contributions in philosophy and biology have had a significant influence on modern
Premium Psychology Sigmund Freud Mind
essay I shall argue that Descartes’ argument for scepticism‚ (Cartesian doubt) conveyed in his First Meditation through three stages of doubt‚ is the most compelling‚ and evaluate the reasons for this being so. • Written as a means for us to better understand what we know‚ not necessarily as a way for Descartes to discuss his own views on why we should be skeptical about everything‚ however the criticisms the Meditations produced can also be contested. To this extent‚ Descartes’ argument is most compelling
Premium Epistemology Truth Logic
Descartes is the pioneer of modern philosophy. His "I think‚ therefore I am" is the first principle and proposition of his philosophical system. His thoughts occupied an extremely important position in the whole history of philosophy. At first‚ Descartes wrote in Meditation‚ “The first such belief was that I had a face‚ hands‚ arms and the whole structure of bodily parts that corpses also have—I call it the body‚” which gives his first understanding to “I”‚ then he continues says‚ “The next belief
Premium Epistemology Metaphysics Mind
sources was the first meditation of the French philosopher Rene Descartes. In this movie‚ what most people perceive as reality is no more real than a dream. This dream is created by a powerful being bent on deceiving humanity‚ but there are some members of humanity who choose to let themselves be deceived. Neo experiences the same doubt about reality as Descartes when he talks about not being sure if he is awake or still dreaming. Descartes points out that there are no certain markings between the dream
Premium Film The Matrix The Matrix Reloaded
In Descartes Meditation I‚ he casts doubt as to whether or not we are dreaming. He first uses modus tollens to cast doubt to our senses. He then he uses redictio ad absurdum to show that even if we are dreaming‚ there are some things that are still real. Descartes begins with establishing the key idea of laying a strong foundation for his ideas. He acknowledges that he has preconceived ideas about the world in which he can doubt their truth. He sees this collection of ideas as a pyramid‚ where
Premium Epistemology Metaphysics Mind