Introduction to Philosophy

Achieve Test Prep: Philosophy

Descartes: Can Reality be known? Descartes was a rationalist who believed that true knowledge is produced by thinking, which is reflective, logical, analytical, and independent of our sense experiences in the world, a view naturally reinforced by his training as a mathematician. Meditations on First Philosophy are his writings in the form of a personal journal beginning with Meditations I with the question: Suppose every important thing I’ve been taught in my life to this point has been inaccurate and unreliable? Descartes’ response to the above question was dramatically unique; he decided to make every effort to dispose of everything he had been taught and start fresh, searching for a foundation point for knowledge that would be absolutely indubitable. In this approach, Descartes is using doubt constructively to identify, strengthen, and refine the best beliefs. It is this trial by fire that helps us to develop beliefs that are tempered and firmly grounded. Descartes points out it is not necessary to question every individual belief, simply our core beliefs such as how is it possible to be certain of what I think I know?, what is the reason for believing or not believing in God?, on what basis should I make ethical decisions?, and how do I know that there is a world that exists outside of my experience? After establishing the basic ground rules as stated above, Descartes moves on to explore the reliability and unreliability of our sense experience. What we consider through our senses is often incomplete, subjective, and inaccurate, making it unreliable and unsuitable for Descartes’ firm and permanent foundation for knowledge. Descartes established a constructively skeptical approach toward the nature of knowledge, vowing to begin with a clean slate or position of radical doubt and from there, to objectively evaluate everything he knew or believed to be true. Descartes’ radical doubt led him to conceive of the possibility of an evil genius and entity that manipulates us into believing that our waking dream is reality only found his way out of this nightmarish possibility through his famous pronouncement of “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am). This statement provided him with the foundation of absolute certainty on which he could construct a system of true beliefs through the power of reason. Making Connections: Your Beliefs about the World You have a theory of knowledge, meaning you and everyone else develops beliefs and constructs knowledge based on certain principles. Your critical thinking abilities will enable you to develop the most informed beliefs and construct the most enlightened knowledge of which you are capable of. Beliefs represent an interpretation, evaluation, conclusions, or prediction about the world that we endorse as true and express an endorsement of the truth or accuracy of the beliefs by the speaker based presumably on convincing reasons or evidence. The beliefs you develop in living your life help you explain why the world is the way it is, and they guide you in making decisions. All beliefs are not equal—some are certain because they are supported by compelling reasons and other beliefs are less certain because the support is not as solid. As you form and revise your beliefs based on your experiences and your reflections, it is important to make them as accurate as possible. The more accurate they are, the better you will understand what is taking place and to predict what will occur in

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