cogito ergo sum
I think, therefore I am
René Descartes realized he could doubt that a thing exist, but he could not doubt that he doubted. Thought cannot be separated from me, therefore, I exist (Discourse on the Method and Principles of Philosophy). He exists because he thinks. However, what form we exist in is uncertain. He perceives his body through the use of the senses, yet sense are unreliable. Thinking is his essence as it is the only thing about him that cannot be doubted.
He considers a piece of wax; his senses inform him that it has certain characteristics, such as shape, texture, size, color, smell, and so forth. When he brings the wax towards a flame, these characteristics change completely. However, it seems that it is still a piece of wax, even though the senses inform him that all of its characteristics are different. Therefore, in order to properly grasp the nature of the wax, he cannot use the senses. He must use his mind.
“And so something which I thought I was seeing with my eyes is in fact grasped solely by the faculty of judgment which is in my mind.”
Kknowledge takes the form of ideas, and philosophical investigation is the contemplation of these ideas. Hee viewed rational knowledge as being "incapable of being destroyed" and sought to construct an unshakable ground upon which all other knowledge can be based.
He argues that sensory perceptions come to him involuntarily, and are not willed by him. They are external to his senses, prove the existence of something outside of his mind - an external world.
Descartes view of consciousness is subjective. It formed a basis for the early subjective model of human consciousness. This would be later challenged by Behaviorist psychologists who argued that science requires objective testing outside of a personal subjective reality.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment