Descartes Meditations On First Philosophy Essay

BETWEEN APPEARANCE AND REALITY Bertrand Russell once asked, “Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it?” (Cahn, 2012) In his own method, he believed this to be false; after all, everyone perceives the world differently than the person next to them. By using a table as an example, he explains that everything should be questioned, even the things that appear to be absolute. In this paper, Russell’s theory is compared to those of René Descartes and David Hume. Descartes convinces himself that everything in life is a falsehood; from the world around him to his very limbs. To combat this, he views everything as deception. He admits to being “lazy” occasionally, slipping into the habit of believing instead of doubting the things around him.
The main difference I found is that, where Russell blames the deception on human nature, Descartes blames a higher being; God or a “malicious demon of the utmost power and cunning” (Cahn, 2012). Descartes mentions dreaming all throughout his Meditations on First Philosophy. He points out that it is difficult to determine if what we experience is reality or simply dreams. In modern times, many movies hint at this as well. One such movie that I think portrays Descartes’ beliefs perfectly is The Matrix trilogy. In the movie, humans live within their dreams where they don’t know they are dreaming. Should the person awake, they desperately wish to return to the dreaming world where little is questioned and they can live their lives in ignorance of the brutal reality and deception of the “real world.” (Wachowski, The