Haley Berlett
The Method of Doubt The method of doubt was created by Descartes to find out what was absolutely true, and what he could prove with certainty. According to Lex Newman, the author of "Descartes Epistemology", published in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he brings in a quote of Descartes' which explains why his method of doubt works cooperatively with foundationalism. "Throughout my writings I have made it clear that my method imitates that of the architect. When an architect wants to build a house which is stable on ground where there is a sandy topsoil over underlying rock, or clay, or some other firm base, he begins by digging out a set of trenches from which he removes the sand, and anything resting on or mixed in with the sand, so that he can lay his foundations on firm soil. In the same way, I began by taking everything that was doubtful and throwing it out, like sand …"
By throwing out all previous ideas, and starting from the bottom to find truth, Descartes believed the method of doubt is the best way to find knowledge, because it is based on foundationalism, making it easier to build upon. The first step in this method was to doubt all knowledge he had, and he would discover the truth in an idea when it could not be doubted. In order to find the absolute truth, he began this process of doubt by clearing his mind and doubting all previous ideas he had. He did this through a series of meditations. In his first meditation, he began exploring knowledge through the senses. He found that by exploring what he knew through sensory perception, all knowledge can be deceived. His next thought that went through his mind, was that there are some things that we cannot reasonably have doubts, such as having a body. Descartes mentions, "In having certain perceptions, its possible I'm not in my right mind," therefore; showing that the fact of having a body can be doubted. He also backs this up by bringing in the theory of dreams into the meditation. It is impossible to prove with certainty when you are dreaming, and when you are not. Now that Descartes has discarded the senses as a source of knowledge, he begins to look at the next source of knowledge, the sciences. Descartes believes that it would seem almost impossible to doubt a mathematical fact such as two plus two equals four. However, what if there is an evil genius in my head making me believe that all falsehoods are true? Descartes uses the reference of an evil genius to bring all mathematics and logic into doubt. Descartes finds the first indubitable fact in his second mediation. He claims "I think, therefore, I am." He came to the conclusion of his own existence through that facts that he is a being who doubts, and who is deceived. This does not mean he has a body, but he solely exists and a thinking being. This is important, because it pushes the method of doubt further because now he has to figure out how he has become a thinking being, and where all these ideas and thoughts came from. He settles on three possible types of ideas: innate, thoses that he has come up with on his own, and those that originate with something outside of himself. However, there is one idea that he believes he could not have come up with on his own, and that is the idea of God. In Descartes' third meditation, he proves the existence of God. Descartes writes, "Perhaps I myself could be the source of most of my ideas, but my idea of God is an idea of a being having more actual or formal reality than I—or, for that matter, than any other thing." This simply means that because his mind is finite, it is not capable of creating this perfect, infinite
Dakota Poff ENG 102 C. Pyle March 13th, 2014 Paper 2 Ad Analysis Imagine you’re a middle aged man, and you’ve hit the milestone referred to as a mid-life crisis. You're feeling fatigued, as if your youthfulness has been drained out of your body leaving you empty and meaningless. You’ve spent countless amounts of time and dollars on self help tapes, life coaches, and plastic surgery to try and restore what you used to be in your prime. Harley Davidson motorcycle company has accomplished…
Phillip Franco Professor Cohen Comp 2 25 February 2015 Paper 2 Imagine you’re on a boat and you are traveling across the blue water reflecting the sky like glass, and then suddenly you come across some trash floating in the water. Of course you do not pay much mind to it, but then as you continue to travel on the water more and more garbage is appearing and suddenly you realize that you are amongst tons of trash. The once beautiful water you were on is now infested with garbage of all sorts, ruining…
examples from his experiences as a basketball coach. Although sports might not be your career, these examples can be applied to both working and personal goals. This book offers a list of ten strategies for achieving success: 1) Build your self-esteem 2) Set demanding goals 3) Always be positive 4) Establish good habits 5) Master the art of communication 6) Learn from good role models 7) Thrive on pressure 8) Be ferociously persistent 9) Learn from adversity 10) Survive your own success I enjoyed reading…
acceptable treatment must also confirm that over 90% of participants were satisfied with their mental health. The preferred treatment involves 3 fluoroscopic-guided, 40-mg triamcinolone injections and two anesthetics: 5 ml bupivacaine and 5 ml mepivacaine.2 The average patients’ age of the study performed upon this treatment was 49. They were treated about 11 months after the beginning of their symptoms and received clinical evaluations at the start of treatment, and end of weeks 4, 8, and 12. Patients…
Achievement: Examining Educational Experiences of Children in the U.S. South," Stella Fram, Julie Miller-Cribbs, and Van Horn state that although people have tried to remedy this inequality, "these gaps have proven quite robust" (Fram, Miller-Cribbs, & Horn 2). They propose that, rather than race being at the root of this school achievement gap, it is actually poverty: "In fact, the school achievement gap between poor and nonpoor children is troublingly high. Given the race-poverty overlap, it is not surprising…
Though the term had been used earlier, it was Haydn who conceived of the scherzo in its modern sense. In 1781, he called the third movement of some of his string quartets a “scherzo.” What had been the old minuet-and-trio movement now became a scherzo (and trio), and Haydn’s choice of that name indicated that he wanted more speed and liveliness. Beethoven took this evolution one step further: his scherzos, usually built on very short rhythmic units, explode with violent energy and with enough comic…
1984 A society that allows everyone to stand up for what they believe in seems a lot like the culture we live in today. In Russia, there is a federation established that states, “It shall be a duty of the state to recognize, respect and protect the rights and liberties of man and citizen”(“The Constitution of the Russian Federation”). This is the type of government we are used to. The government usually respects the rights of the people and allows them to have a voice. In George Orwell’s novel called…
Melissa Martinez Professor Kubasta Paper #2 02/08/2015 The Causes of Technology/Paper #2 The first article “How a Demon iPad Stole My Summer Vacation” by Doyle McManus I found to be a mirrored image of what most average family vacations probably are like. I agree with most of the viewpoints McManus points out in his article. The biggest one being the disruption technology has caused in the family. Family time is nothing like it used to be, not only on vacations but also in the household. Like McManus…
My View of Lee’s Eating Christmas in the Kalahari A Lynn Byrne My View of Lee’s Eating Christmas in the Kalahari Page 2 Abstract My view of the bushmen teaching humility in their Christmas practice is contained in this paper based on the information gleaned from Lee’s article Eating Christmas in the Kalahari. I list excerpts from the article and our textbook to illustrate my views. Also…
Danika Morris CDEV 53 December 3, 2014 Reaction Paper #2 As Children reach the appropriate age to attend preschool/kindergarten, Parents and teachers face many questions and concerns as to if the child is “ready” and what experiences will best aid them. Throughout chapters 9-14 of DCA, we are introduced and enlightened of the many cognitive, social, and physical changes children endure while reaching the age to go to school. There are many factors that play into distinguishing whether a child…