Refer to Descartes', Meditations on First Philosophy, when addressing all three parts of the question below....

Refer to Descartes', Meditations on First Philosophy, when addressing all three parts of the question below.

(1) Why doesn’t Descartes simply determine what's real by looking around him and use his sense experience?

(2) In Meditation II, Descartes states, "I am; I exist - this is certain." Explain why Descartes claims that his knowledge here about this cannot

be doubted?

(3) What is the nature of the "I" for Descartes and why doesn't it refer to the physical body of Descartes?

Solutions

Expert Solution

1.Because he thinks REASON comes before OBSERVATION as the route to secure knowledge. He is a rationalist, as opposed to empiricist, philosopher. Of course all agree that reason and observation both contribute, the distinction between rationalists and empiricists is only rough and ready. and one of emphasis.
As a rationalist Descartes must reason his way to the view that he can trust his senses, not start off by taking sense experience as a reliable basis for knowledge. He notes that sense experience suggests, for example, a flat Earth, unmoving Earth, small sun and tiny stars – all incorrect.
Descartes is disenchanted with medieval philosophy based on Aristotle (who was pretty much an empiricist), and says he wishes to start from the beginning and build a solid foundation of knowledge for the sciences. His method is the famous Method of Doubt or methodological scepticism: he will only accept as knowledge what is so clear and distinct to his mind that it can’t be doubted, proceeding from there by reason.
He begins by doubting the evidence of his senses including the existence of the external world and his own body (at any time, he might be dreaming, or an evil demon could be deceiving him) Then he doubts even truths of reason (an evil demon could affect his mind tricking him into thinking 2+2=4 when it’s really nothing of the kind).
Had he been an empiricist, he would of thought, "Couch" I see it, therefore it exists. Instead he thought he was being tricked by a demon of deception and that all sensations could have been no more than illusions. He wanted to find out what was certain using his mind alone. That is why "I think therefore I exist" is a rational conclusion and not an empirical one.
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Hayet Jeridi answered 1 year ago

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