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rene descartes Essay Examples

268 total results

A Paper on the Life and Works of Rene Descartes (2523 words, 5 pages)

Ren Descartes (1596-1650) LIFE. Descartes was educated at a Jesuit college which was firmly grounded in the scholastic tradition. After furthering his education in Paris, he enlisted in the Dutch and, later, the Bavarian militaries. In 1629 Descartes moved to Holland where he lived in seclusion for 20 years, changing ... Read More

An Essay on Rene Descartes and His Teaching (1869 words, 3 pages)

Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) was not only a philosopher but also a mathematician and scientist. As a philosopher he used the notion of scepticism as a means to find truth stripped of all ambiguity. In 'meditations one what can be called into doubt' Descartes states that he shall "doubt ... Read More

An Essay on Rene Descartes’s Cogito Ergo Sum (1087 words, 3 pages)

Descartes Knowledge The question of our existence in reality is a question which philosophers have tackled throughout time. This essay will look at the phrase, cogito ergo sum or I think therefore I am, a phrase brought about by Rene Descartes. This phrase is the backbone of Descartes whole philosophy ... Read More

Rene Descartes in the Quest for the Truth and Reality (752 words, 1 pages)

In Meditation I, Descartes is questioning reality and seeking the truth. He states in his introduction that everything he knows is wrong and he decides to attack the foundations of all his beliefs. To do this, he overthrows all his beliefs and sets forth with a blank slate. Descartes argues ... Read More

An Analysis of Meditation in Rene Descartes’ Meditations (3027 words, 4 pages)

A Meditation on Descartes Meditations In the Meditations, Descartes a knowledge seeking journey to find the indubitable foundations for knowledge. By subjecting everything to doubt Descartes hoped to discover whatever was immune to it. In order to best understand how and why Descartes builds his epistemological system up from his ... Read More

A Comparison of the Views of John Locke and Rene Descartes on Whether We have Certain Knowledge When We are Born (875 words, 4 pages)

In the case of Jessica, the ten year old who has been comatose since birth, empiricist and rationalist epistemologists would have to distinct theories regarding what Jessica knows the moment after she wakes up. If we assume that Jessica is completely unaware of herself and her surroundings while in this ... Read More

A Comparison and Analysis of Discourse on the Method and Meditations on First Philosophy, Two Works by Rene Descartes (1549 words, 3 pages)

A Comparative Summary of Descartes Discourse on the Method and Meditations on First PhilosophyIf we take a look at the historical context of the Discourse on Method, it was written around the time the Thirty Years War was ravaging Europe, and the book was seen as some sort of reaction ... Read More

A Study of a Priori and Posteriori Knowledge by Rene Descartes (1076 words, 5 pages)

Discuss Descartess ideas regarding a priori and a posteriori knowledge. From where do these types of knowledge derive? Provide examples of each in your own words.Descartes has been the foundation of which Western philosophy has been dominated by epistemological issues. The study of the theory of knowledge, epistemology, is the ... Read More

An Argument in Favor of the Theory of the Demonic Deceiver Doubt in Meditation by Rene Descartes (1238 words, 4 pages)

Topic Discuss the Demonic Deceiver Doubt in Meditation 1. How strong a reason for doubting does it provide? What are some weaknesses in it?Descartes was one of well known philosophers of the Enlightenment Era who discovered how nature worked in its surrounding. He researched his surroundings by conducting philosophical thinking ... Read More

The Existence of a Thing in Order and the Idea of God in First Meditation, a Book by Rene Descartes (472 words, 2 pages)

At the commencement of his First Mediation On what can be called into doubt, Rene Descartes lays out the purpose for, what would later become a collection of, the Mediations. Upon prior reflection, he realized that things that which he has been made to believe all the way up to ... Read More

The Existence of a God and Whether He Can Be a Deceiver in Meditations on First Philosophy, a Book by Rene Descartes (496 words, 2 pages)

A Reflection on the Preface of Critique of Pure ReasonBy the time Descartes is to his Third Mediation out of six total he is now certain that he does quite in fact exists he is a thing that thinks so he is therefore a thing of existence. The philosopher knows ... Read More

A Review of Rene Descartes Argument on the Existence of God (1089 words, 4 pages)

Give a critical anaylisis for one of descartes arguments for the existence of GodDescartes, the 17th century rationalist and dualist, first attempt to prove the existence of God is the cosmological argument of Meditation three in his Meditations on First Philosophy. Descartes relies on the existence of a benevolent god ... Read More

The Clear and Distinct Ideas in the Philosophical Meditations of Rene Descartes (926 words, 3 pages)

Descartes, a devote Catholic, has one central motif throughout his philosophical meditations. He continuously seeks the distinction between what constitutes as clear and distinct and what constitutes as confused and obscure, whether it be in reference to the divine or the natural world. The division of the two forms of ... Read More

A Review of the Wax Argument by Rene Descartes (582 words, 2 pages)

In Rene Descartes Mediations on First Philosophy he makes an observation in Meditation II that is known as the wax argument. This argument helps him to develop the rest of his thoughts and theories throughout the essay. He uses this example to explain why us humans, as thinking things, are ... Read More

Rene Descartes’ Arguments on Memory in Meditations (1684 words, 5 pages)

If I could humble the great ideas of Descartes so other people could understand I would say that second guessing is needed in life. Think of your brain as a memory card, it doesn't matter if you have the largest memory card money can buy and it is filled to ... Read More

The Life and Early Work of Rene Descartes (742 words, 3 pages)

Rene Descartes was born on March 31, 1596, at La Haye in the Touraineregion of France. Descartes was the son of a nobleman and belonged to avery noble, well-respected family of great men. When he was eight years oldhe was enrolled in the Jesuit school of La Flche in Anjou, ... Read More

The Idea of the Existence of God in First Meditation, a Book by Rene Descartes (905 words, 4 pages)

Descartes' "First Mediation" Nevertheless, the belief that there is a God who is all powerful, and who created me, such as I am, has, for a long time, obtained steady possession of my mind. How, then, do I know that he has not arranged that there should be neither earth, ... Read More

Comparing the Similarities and Differences in Philosophical Views and Conflicting Theories on Knowledge Between Rene Descartes and John Locke (1175 words, 4 pages)

Throughout history, philosophers have made many developments on the theories of epistemology. Two great philosophers that emerged from the 17th century are Rene Descartes and John Locke. They have two very different philosophies and discovered new ways of looking at knowledge rather than the traditional way of thinking. Before them, ... Read More

The Mind and Body Are Not Related as Claimed by Rene Descartes in His Meditations (844 words, 4 pages)

Fooling Philosophical ConsciousnessConsciousness cannot be fooled. For this reason I am skeptical of Rene Descartes claims in his meditations focused on themes of mind-body dualism. He threw out all of his conceptions of knowledge in an effort to accomplish obtaining a stable basis for true knowledge. Through the recycling of ... Read More

The Application of the Principle of Charity to a Portion of Rene Descartes’s Divisibility Argument (1504 words, 5 pages)

Descartes arguments are seen to be very singular and almost unwarranted in truth. What is not correctly understood is that Descartes is only perceived to be unwarranted because he did not have the luxury of living in a time period with technology that allowed him to understand everything as we ... Read More

The Life and Works of Rene Descartes a Philosopher (1057 words, 2 pages)

Descartes EssayIn 1639, Rene Descartes published Meditations. The purpose for this publication began with him being appalled by how many false things he believed and the faulty basis by which he came to believe them. Rene Descartes then set out to establish a secure foundation of knowledge. Descartes defined the ... Read More

An Analysis of the Ideas of Doubt and God in Rene Descartes’ Meditations (338 words, 2 pages)

The idea of doubt is extremely important to philosopher Rene Descartes in his six meditations on the existence of God and the distinction between the soul and the body. In meditation one, Descartes discusses sensory things and the idea that our senses have, without argue, deceived us at one point ... Read More

The Stand of Rene Descartes on the Idea of God’s Existence and a Personal Opinion on It (1956 words, 7 pages)

For centuries, the idea of Gods existence has always been instilled in every man throughout history. Religion played a very important role in the morals of society, but there were always the believers and the non-believers. Many scholars have tried to argue the proof of Gods existence by using the ... Read More

An Analysis of Rene Descartes’s Dualist Thesis on the Mind/Body Problem, Its Relevance, and Criticisms (1644 words, 5 pages)

Dualism Still Falls ShortBecause of Ren Descartes dualist thesis, philosophers have toiled over the mindbody problem for centuries. Many have directed their efforts toward dismantling his theory and have done so successfully. Much of their success has come from advances in science that have granted contemporary philosophers access to information ... Read More

The Philosophy of Rene Descartes and Its Relevance Today (2178 words, 6 pages)

In this paper, I plan to explore the philosophy of Descartes in order to demonstrate how and why it is still relevant today. To do this I will explain his philosophy and why it is favorable, discuss the criticisms of his work and why they are invalid, and relate his ... Read More

A Discussion on Rene Descartes’ Theory on the Mind-Body Problem (2408 words, 7 pages)

The Mind-Body ProblemThe topic of the mind-body problem starts out with a well known philosopher, Rene Descartes. Descartes proposes a theory in which many psychologists agree with while also is the view known as common sense. Descartes answers no to the question, Are we simply very complex parts of the ... Read More

An Analysis of the Argument from Illusion in Meditations on First Philosophy, a Book by Rene Descartes (1963 words, 8 pages)

1 Argument from IllusionIn Descartes First Meditation, he poses the Argument from Illusion. This argument is interesting because it is radical, and as such, many have debated the truth of it over time. The argument goes as follows1. My senses have deceived me from time to time.2. It is prudent ... Read More

A Discussion on the Meditations of Rene Descartes in Relation to the Existence of Sensory Perception (1531 words, 7 pages)

Descartes Account of PerceptionIn Rene Descartes, Meditation I, it is argued that the only thing that we are granted proof of is that we are nothing but a thinking thing. The existence of our body cannot be proven because at any moment we may be subject to the will of ... Read More

Ontological Arguments of Rene Descartes and Baruch Spinoza on the Existence of God (4408 words, 20 pages)

Descartes, Spinoza, And God Humanity carries a curiosity in its nature that demands justifiable logical answers to seemingly unanswerable questions. Our minds race with inquiry, and even with a near infinite source of information at our very finger tips, we are unsatisfied. 'Explain thought!', 'Explain the soul!', 'Explain God!' we ... Read More

A Comparison between Rene Descartes’ Foundationalism and Coherentism, Two Philosophies of Knowledge (865 words, 4 pages)

Descartes Foundationalism vs. CoherentismNothing is certain in life. For hundreds of years, humanity has repeated this phrase and observed it to be true. Although it is a common saying when something goes wrong in our daily lives, one 16th century man took this belief to the extreme. Rene Descartes, born ... Read More

Published: Friday 25th of January 2013