Cartesian doubt
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René Descartes | |
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| Era | 17th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy |
| School | Cartesianism, Rationalism, Foundationalism |
Main interests | Metaphysics, Epistemology, Science, Mathematics |
Notable ideas | Cogito ergo sum, method of doubt, Cartesian coordinate system, Cartesian dualism, Cartesian doubt, ontological argument for existence of God; regarded as a founder of Modern philosophy |
Cartesian doubt is a form of philosophical scepticism associated with the writings and methodology of René Descartes[1][2]
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Characteristics
Cartesian doubt is methodological. Its purpose is to use doubt as a route to certain knowledge by finding those things which could not be doubted.[3]. The fallibility of sense data in particular is a subject of Cartesian doubt.[3]
Descartes's Method
René Descartes, the original founder of Cartesian doubt, automatically put all beliefs, ideas, thoughts, and matter in doubt. He showed that his grounds, or reasoning, for any knowledge could just as well be false. Sensory experience, the primary node of knowledge, is often erroneous and therefore must be doubted. For instance, what one is seeing may very well be a hallucination. There is nothing that proves it cannot be. In short, if there is any way a belief can be disproved, then its grounds are insufficient. From this, Descartes proposes two arguments. [2]
The Dream
Descartes, knowing that the context of our dreams - while possibly unbelievable - is often lifelike, hypothesizes that humans can only believe that they are awake. There are no sufficient grounds for distinguishing between a dream experience and a waking experience. For instance, if Subject A is sitting at their computer, typing this article, there is just as much evidence pointing towards it being reality as there is a lack of. Descartes does concede that we do live in a world that can create such ideas as dreams. [2]
The Demon
Descartes reasons that our very own experience may very well be controlled by an "evil demon" of sorts. This demon, or genius, is powerful enough to control all anybody. He could have created a superficial world that we may think we live in. [2]
The First Person
Descartes believed that doubt can be erased by studying the "first person." This heralded the term ' 'cogito ergo sum' ': I think, therefore I am. [2]
References
- ^ A Philosophical Glossary edited by Justin Leiber, Philosophy Department, University of Houston, USA. http://www.swif.uniba.it/lei/foldop/foldoc.cgi?Cartesian+doubt
- ^ a b c d e Roger Scruton. ' 'Modern Philosophy: An Introduction and Survey' '. London: Penguin Books, 1994.
- ^ a b Cartesian Doubt and Cartesian Rationalism Prof J. Strayer http://www.ipfw.edu/phil/faculty/Strayer/CartesianDoubtandCartesianRationalism.ppt
