Analysis Of Rene Descartes ' Discourse On The Method Essay

In Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes begins a quest into his own mind and existence by putting all of his beliefs up for questioning in order to determine what can be certain and what can be doubted. He realized that he was able to doubt if he had a body in instances of dreaming or of illusions. But, he was unable to doubt the fact that he had a mind because the mind is the “the thinking thing” that processes all the doubts of his existence. Descartes’ mechanism into figuring out the truth is to doubt everything. Descartes argues that the mind and the body are completely separate entities because of the minds capability to exist on its own. Despite the fact that his argument is well assembled and explained, there are a few doubts and situations which make it unclear as to whether the mind really has a purpose without the body.

Descartes was incorrect and made mistakes in his philosophical analysis concerning understanding the Soul and the foundation of knowledge.  Yes, he coined the famous phrase, “I think therefore I am,” but the rest of his philosophical conclusions fail to be as solid (Meditation 4; 32). Descartes knew that if he has a mind and is thinking thoughts then he must be something that has the ability to think. While he did prove that he is a thinking thing that thinks (Meditation 3; 28), he was unable to formulate correct and true philosophical arguments and claims.  For instance, his argument for faith that a non-deceiving God exists and allows us to clearly reason and perceive was a circular argument.  Another issue with Descartes' philosophy

Descartes' formulation of what he calls the “Real Distinction” has proved foundational to our modern concepts of being and consciousness. His contention has irreversibly influenced the fields of psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and others while cementing into the popular consciousness the notion of a definite dichotomy between the mind and the body. In this paper, I will flesh out what Descartes' meant by the term “real distinction,” discuss the arguments he uses in its' defense, and then argue myself that this distinction between mind and body (at least as Descartes frames it) goes much too far, and that it is a much more viable probability to believe that mind and body are actually intertwined, one and the same.

Descartes is a mind-body dualist, who in the Discourse on Method argues that humans are the only species that have a mind and intelligence. He states that animals are different in nature than humans and uses different arguments to defend his position. In this essay, I discuss Descartes effort to show that humans are distinct from machines and animals. He presents two tests to determine if a machine is a human and I will establish my view on each test.

Descartes’ main goal in his book, Meditations on First Philosophy, is to chase certainty, what is not doubtful or questionable. He also questions the idea of God; he is not certain of God’s existence. Even more, if God exists, can he be deceived? In addition to questioning everything, he also is questioning the senses. He would learn what is right could be wrong, so to accomplish such reasoning, Descartes states that he would need to look at the fundamental structure or foundations of his beliefs. Through a series of meditations, Descartes will reach his inner independence and his goal to reach certainty for his existence.

When considering the case of God (or some creature of the sort of an angel), Descartes cites that God is not a deceiver, and thus that God could not be directly or indirectly conveying these ideas (with the indirect case being via some creature which only eminently contains the objective reality of these ideas and not formally). Descartes further establishes this point in stating that God did not grant a faculty by which one could determine that such a source (God or a being nobler than a body) was indeed supplying the ideas via some active faculty. Furthermore, God “has given…a great propensity to believe that they [, meaning the ideas of sensible objects] are produced by corporeal things” (Descartes 55). Thus, the active faculty must not be in God or any being nobler than a body. Rather, Descartes concludes that such an active faculty must be within something corporeal which therefore means that corporeal things do indeed exist.

Throughout his work Discourse on the Method, Rene Descartes discusses the things he believes to be true concerning thought. He discusses the things which he believes to be more perfect and the things which he believes to be less perfect (pt 2, para 1). When comparing the two, he eventually comes to the conclusion that things that are more perfect are constructed by fewer hands and have specific purpose (pt 2, para 1). He also introduces in the opening portion of his work that his opinion of good sense is the ability to judge rightly and to follow through with the judgments (pt. 1, para 1). He concludes his writing by explaining that he believes that thinking is a non-mechanistic action, and he makes several points to confirm this (pt. 5, para 10). Descartes makes claims that sometimes compare thinking to the workings of a machine. However, he is correct in saying that thinking is a non-mechanistic action. Because human beings’ thought processes are not mechanical, we must take care to use good sense in order to make right judgment.

Rene Descartes, in his meditation, “The discourse on Method Part V”, had argued that although we humans could build a machine, that could successfully imitate a monkey, we could not build one that could imitate a human being.

Through his first meditation, Descartes discusses what spurs his philosophical journey and gives birth to what we now understand and know as modern skepticism. He questions knowledge and how it comes about. He starts by doubting the principles by which he has acquired knowledge, and if his possession of such information is factual, given the source of how this was obtained. He walks us through his thought mechanism and explains it just like he would explain an architectural process splitting it into three major topics: eminent reality, formal reality and objective reality; where the foundation is the place where we can find principles and assumptions, being the most important part, and how all the remaining superstructures will depend on this base. Hence, we must get rid of the simple basics in order to start anew, and build new knowledge on sound theories that we can trust. If done otherwise, with a poor foundation, all other structures will collapse.

Rene Descartes was a French philosopher in the 17th century. Descartes was not pleased with what philosophy was based on in during this time in history. He took it upon himself to raise questions in the world of philosophy. He questioned well known beliefs and beliefs held by many, not just philosophers. In his meditations, he explains his process of emptying his mind and starting completely over. In this paper, I am going to evaluate and question his thoughts on philosophy, use his writing to raise questions about my own beliefs, and compare his thoughts to my own.

One of the most important ideas upon which Descartes’s proof of the existence of God rests is that rational minds face constraints. While God is the absolute infinite, humans and other beings exist with limitations on their actions. One of these limitations is human intellect, which Descartes names as one component of the cause of our tendency toward error as humans. The finite nature of human intellect, he argues, combines with an infinite will which causes us to seek an understanding of phenomena beyond our intellectual limitations. This is where humans make errors, according to Descartes. Although he argues that intellect is constrained in the face of free will, the presentation of intellect as a static limitation seems to fall short. Rather, it makes more sense to advance the idea of intellect as a dynamic concept which, although limited, is capable of advancing toward a greater, more accurate understanding of the mind and world.

With faith and belief people can work towards bettering their natural selves by re-evaluating actions made in the past and instead of spending time repenting, they can learn from past mistakes, or wrong doings in order to better themselves and their surroundings. When one becomes a better person, they also become an asset for their community, since they do good and set an example for others. Unlike the majority of people that believe the words repentance and regret are synonyms and can substitute for one another, Michel de Montaigne does not follow in this belief as he makes clear in his essay ‘Of Repentance’. He believes that these two words do not hold similar meanings, but rather differ vastly in nature.

In chapter seven of Problems from Philosophy by James and Stuart Rachels, the authors reflect arguments relating to the use of machines to replace functions of the brain. The chapter begins with the introduction of ideas from Rene Descartes. Though far from the technological advances of modern computing, his description of devices performing such actions was much more accurate than he could have imagined. The search for technological advances of consciousness, the goal is to have computers respond to any statement with original thought. It’s appreciated by society to have devices that encourage an advancement of knowledge, but to have a counterfeit relationship with a machine could lead to fraudulent affiliation among sentient beings and melancholic

Rene Descartes is known to the world as "Father of Modern Philosophy". Descartes 17th centuries work continues to be studied and also has a huge impact on influencing modern philosophy. His views on the mind and its distinction from the body became the foundation of the first account of the mind/body question in philosophy. Descartes essay on Meditations, he tried to apply a structure of inquiry which eventually became the fundamental in the natural sciences. All his philosophical inquiries centered on a single principle

René Descartes was a French philosopher and also mathematician. His method of doubt led him to the famous "cogito ergo sum" when translated means "I am thinking, therefore I exist". This cogito was the foundation for Descartes' quest for certain knowledge. He explored doubt and how we can prove our own existence, by taking the first steps of scepticism. His book "Meditations On First Philosophy", was written in six parts. Each representing the six days that God took to create the world. Not to upset the Church, Descartes would need to prove the existence of God, and the soul. Within Descartes' argument, we find some important areas. Two, which require focus, are his