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rene descartes Essay Examples

268 total results

The Search for Truth in the Philosophical Teachings of David Hume and Rene Descartes (1531 words, 2 pages)

Truth is the goal of philosophy. Some philosophers, like David Hume, struggle with eliminating falsity, while others, like Rene Descartes, look for causes to explain effects. A cause and effect argument is called a causal argument. Descartes is interested in logic, one truth progressing to the next. Descartes gives a ... Read More

Rene Descartes Tries to Prove Existence of Body via Space and Form (789 words, 1 pages)

Rene Descartes is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the philosophical analysis of the world around us. Reading through the pages of Meditations of First Philosophy one thing becomes clear Descartes use of language leads him to misinterpret his ideas in a number of places. Throughout ... Read More

Deducing from the Reasoning of Rene Descartes (1236 words, 2 pages)

One reason is simply that the question what if anything is anything certain is an interesting one. We live in a world where there are diverse opinions, views, and theories about many matters. Often these views we hold with great confidence, yet what passes for knowledge is continually changing as ... Read More

Discovering Foundations of Knowledge in Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes (907 words, 2 pages)

Descartes epistemology is known as foundationalism. In his Meditations, Descartes tries to discover certain, indubitable foundations for knowledge. He is searching for absolute certainty, and does this by subjecting everything to doubt. Through this he reaches the one thing he believes to be certain, his existence. In Meditation One, Descartes ... Read More

An Analysis of Rene Descartes’s Epistemology (1482 words, 2 pages)

Nothing has ever progressed without building upon the less advanced that existed before it. Everything needs a step upon which to climb and build the next level, continuing forever an endless staircase. Knowledge is no exception, in that it too requires building upon the fundamentals in order to ascend towards ... Read More

A Biography of Rene Descartes, the Founder of Modern Philosophy and Mathematics (576 words, 1 pages)

Rene Descartes Rene Descartes, the founder of modern philosophy and Father of Modern Mathematics, was born on March 31st, 1596 in La Hayne (now called Descartes), Touraine, France. He was an amazing Philosopher who completely changed the world of arithmetic he influenced many throughout the 17th century up till modern ... Read More

An Analysis of the Descartes’ Beliefs in Meditation I by Rene Descartes (580 words, 1 pages)

Meditation I In Meditation I, Rene Descartes, talks about beliefs that he believed were true, but were those of falsehood. He also talks about deception and how he is always being deceived in the world. Rene, talks about getting rid of his worries and living peacefully in this article. He ... Read More

Rene Descartes’ System of Universal Doubt in Meditations on First Philosophy (886 words, 2 pages)

With his "Meditations on First Philosophy" Rene Descartes has essentially written the method for skepticism. With his system of universal doubt Descartes dismissed all of his beliefs and accepted only those beliefs, which could be indisputably proven. Descartes was a mathematician, philosopher and skeptic and I as a novice mathematician, ... Read More

Rene Descartes in Search of the Truth, Human Knowledge and Belief through Philosophy (2526 words, 3 pages)

Descartes The First and Second Meditations Rene Descartes begins Meditations on First Philosophy by explaining his basic purpose and how he plans on going about accomplishing this project. Descartes hopes to discover truth and justify human knowledge and belief. In order to find the fundamental truths of life, Descartes believes ... Read More

An Analysis of “Meditation One: Concerning Those Things That Can Be Called Into Doubt” by René Descartes (1502 words, 2 pages)

Seventeenth century philosopher Ren Descartes was a rational thinker. He sought to prove theories using only reason because he viewed the senses as unreliable. While many other philosophical thinkers of the seventeenth century were using both reason and the senses to prove their theories, Descartes' rationalist mind lead him to ... Read More

A Description of Rene Descartes’s Skepticism (762 words, 1 pages)

Rene Descartes was a modern European thinker. Throughout his meditations he constantly implies that we are things that think. Our bodies, these things, are just a jumbled mess of flesh, blood and bone. It is thinking that creates the person. Thinking is what separates humans from the rest of the ... Read More

An Argument in Favor of Rene Descartes’ Meditation I and II (651 words, 1 pages)

B. Mitchell K. Hamstra Philosophy RGC 19 June 2003 "For as long as I think for it might perhaps happen, if I totally ceased thinking, that I would at the same time completely cease to be." -Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy Meditations I and II (Descartes, 26) I agree ... Read More

An Examination of Rene Descartes’ Skeptical Argument and Responses by Bouwsma and Malcolm (2361 words, 6 pages)

In this essay, I will examine Rene Descartes' skeptical argument and responses by O.K. Bouwsma and Norman Malcolm. I intend to prove that while both Bouwsma and Malcolm make points that refute specific parts of Descartes' argument in their criticisms, neither is sufficient in itself to refute the whole. In ... Read More

Saint Anselm’s and Rene Descartes’ Approaches to the Matter of God’s Existence (1565 words, 2 pages)

The quandary of the existence of God has troubled mankind for thousands of years. The existence of God was once never denied, as His presence, His existence was evident in miracles and the peoples faith. But time and the advancement of modern science have called God and His very nature ... Read More

An Argument of God’s Existence by Rene Descartes (1022 words, 2 pages)

Descartes and the Existence of God Meditation III The existence of God has been a question since the idea of God was even conceived. Rene Descartes tries to prove God's existence, and to show that there is without a doubt something external to ones own existence. Decartes is looking for ... Read More

The Notion of a Clean Slate in the Philosophy of Rene Descartes (571 words, 1 pages)

The notion of a clean slate as a basis or starting point have been strong roots in philosophical thinking for decades. Some noted philosophers applying this notion to their thinking are none other than Descartes himself as well as John Locke, who's "Tabula Rasa" proposition is well known. It should ... Read More

A Discussion on Rene Descartes’ Philosophical Ideas (1283 words, 2 pages)

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was not only a philosopher but also a mathematician and scientist. As a philosopher, he used skepticism as a means of finding the truth of all. His idea was to doubt everything, and in doubting everything, anything that couldn't be doubted was definite. "I will doubt everything ... Read More

Rene Descartes Attempts to Prove God in His Methods and Meditations Philosophy (1154 words, 2 pages)

The question of whether God exists is an issue that has been debated by scholars, scientists, and philosophers for centuries. In his Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes ultimately attempts to prove God in fact does exist. By dismissing everything he has learned from the beginning ... Read More

An Analysis of Human Philosophy in “Meditations on First Philosophy” by Rene Descartes (533 words, 1 pages)

The topic of human philosophy is one filled with arduous arguments about existence and the questioning of why we are here. Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy is no different. The first two meditations deal specifically with these issues, as Descartes examines several examples where these questions can be pondered. ... Read More

A Descriptive Summary of Rene Descartes’ Meditations (1044 words, 2 pages)

In Descartes' First Meditation he wants to demolish his opinions so he can decipher what is true and what is false with no biases. For example, today someone may hold beliefs in the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause but later in life will learn that these are false truths. In ... Read More

A Brief Biography of Rene Descartes and the Influence of His Environment on His Works (1845 words, 4 pages)

When studying the work of anybody I feel that it is necessary not only to have an understanding of the work they produce, but to fully comprehend we must also know what inspired them or encouraged them to undertake the challenges they did. In the case of Rene Descartes this ... Read More

A Comparison of the Ideas on the Quest for Truth of Rene Descartes and David Hume (543 words, 1 pages)

There are three ways in which one is able to find truth through reason (A is A), by utilizing the senses (paper burns) or by faith (God is all loving). As the period of the Renaissance came to a close, the popular paradigm for philosophers shifted from faith to reason ... Read More

The Life and Influence of Rene Descartes (576 words, 1 pages)

Renee Descartes (1595-1650) 3.23.2001 Renee Descartes was a famous French mathematician, scientist and philosopher. His views about knowledge and certainty, as well as his views about the relationship between mind and body have been very influential over the last three centuries. Descartes was born in La Haye, France on March ... Read More

The Life of Rene Descartes, a French Philosopher and Scientist (752 words, 1 pages)

Ren Descartes is the first scientist to make the distinction between the impressions which are already present in our minds and the laws which must be followed in order to arrive at reasonably certain philosophical data. He discarded the Scholasticism of his day, while not fully discarding any of its ... Read More

A Comparison of Similarities and Differences Between Rene Descartes and John Locke, David Hume and Plato (2169 words, 3 pages)

In this paper I will discuss the similarities and differences between Rene Descartes and John Locke, David Hume and Plato. They believe in rationalism or empiricism respectively. Rationalist believed that an important group of fundamental concepts are known intuitively through reason, opposite to experience. For rationalist, the knowledge is innate ... Read More

An Analysis of the Political Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes (1372 words, 3 pages)

Political Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes centeri"Politics should be the application of the science Of man to the construction of the community" Explain this remark and discuss what reasons there might be for thinking it is not trueicenter In this essay I intend to examine the political philosophy ... Read More

An Analysis of God’s Existence in Rene Descartes’s Meditation V (1455 words, 2 pages)

In the New Merriam Webster Dictionary, sophism is defined as a plausible but fallacious argument. In Rene Descartes Meditation V, he distinguishes the existence of God, believing he must prove that god exists before he can examine any corporeal objects outside of himself. By proving that the existence of God ... Read More

An Analysis of the Discourse on the Method of Reasoning by Rene Descartes (762 words, 1 pages)

Discourse on the Method is Descartes' attempt to explain his method of reasoning through even the most difficult of problems. He illustrates the development of this method through brief autobiographical sketches interspersed with philosophical arguments. Part 1 contains "various considerations concerning the sciences." First, all people possess "good sense," the ... Read More

Published: Friday 25th of January 2013