"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth". Genesis 1:1 That is how the Bible starts. But what or who is this God mentioned in this verse? Does God exist? Is the universe the product of a fortuitous event or it was created by a "superior being"? These questions and many others have been asked by men‚ thinkers and philosophers for thousands of years and to try to answer these questions we need to begin by defining God. It is important to mention that‚ by trying to define God‚ we are
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Reflex acts were one of the first human reactions to being studied. Descartes was the first beginning a study model of reflex acts‚ this to be able to demonstrate that the body worked like any other machine. Another scientist in studying this phenomenon‚ Robert Whytt. He was a Scottish physicist and physicist. He inclined his research around action-reflex‚ differentiating voluntary and involuntary movements. Describing the pupil reflex to light (reflecting Whytt)‚ he further proposed that the arches
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Descartes’ Cogito argument and defective nature doubt are mutually damaging to each other’s respective claims. Defective nature dismisses logic yet Cogito uses it‚ by doing so Descartes contradicts himself‚ falling trap to his own scrutiny. Ruling out his own perception‚ how can Descartes make plausible claims when he doubts his very ability to do so? The reasoning behind Descartes’ doubtfulness is that‚ in essence‚ he wants to know what he can and cannot doubt. If Descartes knows what is doubtable
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References: The Apology by Plato
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Epistemology is the investigation into the grounds and nature of knowledge. Found in the 1800’s From Old Greece forward‚ Plato‚ Socrates‚ and developmental ideas. Rationalism means the knowledge can be acquired through the use of reason and empiricism is obtained through experience. Externalism‚ empiricism‚ constructivism‚ and etc. Rene Descartes Immanuel Kant Aristotle Plato Locke Berkeley Spinoza The kind of knowledge of how can we know what we know‚ the reason why? How is knowledge got
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In his Fourth Meditation‚ Descartes approaches the problem of human mistakes and ultimately reconciles this with the existence of a non-deceiving God. He takes issue with the notion of God‚ being perfect‚ creating in him an imperfection – that is‚ the capacity to make mistakes. Mistakes‚ according to Descartes‚ arise when we are mistaken or deceived about a truth. But God is not a deceiver; and given that God has given humans the ability to judge‚ it doesn’t follow that he should give us the ability
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The Conception of Substance Dualism Rene Descartes‚ a 17th century French philosopher‚ created the idea of Substance dualism. Descartes states that the mind and the body are two separate entities that possess different characteristics. The mind‚ a theoretical substance‚ cannot be viewed in space as a material substance using tradition measuments such as height or weight. Because of this‚ only the physical body can be extended‚ not the mind‚ separating the two into the theory of substance dualism
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A central idea in the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche is the idea of the master-slave morality. The master morality‚ the morality of the nobility‚ covers courage and strong will. In this mindset‚ one only interprets morality‚ classical virtues‚ the good and bad‚ but not the evil. Conversely‚ the slave morality accepts humility and the herd mentality‚ viewing morals as good and evil‚ vilifying the master. In his works‚ Nietzsche argues that the fatal issue with society today is the prevailing
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In Descartes’ First Meditation‚ why does he set about doubting all of his knowledge? What is he hoping to achieve? Descartes mentions that several years have passed since he first realized how numerous were the false opinions that he had once taken to be true. He notes that the subsequent opinions he built were suspect to doubt because of this. He says that he has gained his knowledge through senses or through the senses. The senses are sometimes deceptive‚ and it is prudent not to trust that which
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philosopher named; René Descartes was born on March 31‚ 1596‚ in La Haye en Touraine‚ France. He was extensively educated‚ first at a Jesuit college at age 8‚ then earning a law degree at 22‚ but an influential teacher set him on a course to apply mathematics and logic to understanding the natural world. We will be exploring the several arguments Descartes discusses in his Meditations. This approach incorporated the contemplation of the nature of existence and of knowledge itself. Descartes in mediation
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