Michael Nguyen Paper 2 3/29/2012 Professor Nathan Smith Rationalism vs Empiricism Rationalism believes that some ideas or concept are independent of experience and that some truth is known by reason alone. Rationalist support the idea of priori knowledge which means knowledge that comes before experience and independent of experience Philosophers that support that are associated with rationalism are Descartes‚ Kant‚ and Leibniz. Empiricism believes that some ideas or concepts are independent of
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cutting across what can we know‚ what is the nature and scope of human knowledge‚ what can be known with certainty‚ how do we acquire knowledge‚ how can we know what is when we come across it‚ what can be left to faith or opinion to decide‚ as well as the proper source of knowledge preoccupied the philosophical and at the same time‚ the epistemological thought of philosophers. In this connection‚ different schools of thought have come to limelight notably among them are scepticism‚ rationalism‚ and empiricism
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In Philosophy‚ there are two main positions about the source of all knowledge. These positions are called rationalism and empiricism. Rationalists believe that all knowledge is "innate"‚ or is there when one is born‚ and that learning comes from intuition. On the other hand‚ empiricists believe that all knowledge comes from direct sense experience. In this essay‚ I will further explain each position‚ it’s strengths and weaknesses‚ and how Kant discovered that there is an alternative to these positions
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Descartes begins his Third Meditation knowing very little. By the end of the previous meditation‚ he has established that he exists as a thinking thing that thinks in many different ways. Armed with such little certainty‚ Descartes begins a seemingly impossible task- to prove the existence of God‚ armed with only these facts and rational thinking. He concludes his proof with the verdict that God is in fact the only thing that could cause his own idea of his creator. Descartes’ proof rests in part
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Descartes views in the Second Meditation is that he tries to clarify the nature of the human mind and how it is better known than the body. He has this theory of we’re just “existing” as in we’re just dreaming or being deceived by an evil demon of some sort. With that happening‚ he still concludes that we can imagine‚ hear‚ and see things. Although our sensory perceptions can be false‚ they’re still a part of our mind and our thinking. Descartes believes we should doubt our senses because they cannot
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Descartes’ First Meditation attempts to prove that everything can be called into doubt. However‚ his Cogito argument in his Second Meditation is successful in proving that we can know at least one thing for certain. In his First Meditations‚ Descartes begins a quest to establish a firm foundation for philosophy. To do this‚ he must demolish his opinions and start with a clean state. Descartes attempts to undermine the foundation behind all of his beliefs. He believes that if something can be doubted
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René Descartes contention in the Second Meditation Descartes rejects the proof of the senses as unreliable for certainty. His fundamental contentions depend on the psyche and body are particular and unmistakable and the movement that characterizes his presence is that of considering. Proceeding with his inquiry‚ he endeavors to discover something of which he can be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt - regardless of the fact that it is the reality that nothing is certain. His first port of call is
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Descartes starts by doubting everything (“I will suppose then‚ that everything I see is spurious”) and thinks that anything which admits the slightest doubt must be false. He attempts to find something which he is unable to doubt and if he cannot he must conclude He contends that he is not able to doubt his existence. Even if there is a deceiving god who is constantly deceiving him about the world‚ he still must exist‚ as he must exist in order to be deceived. (“I am‚ I exist”). He then tries
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Rationalism vs Empiricism! The Greeks vs the Empiricists round 1…. FIGHT! The rationalist first jab is that there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are gained independently in terms of sense experience. Empiricists claim that sense experience is the ultimate source of all our concepts and knowledge (empiricist’s vs rationalists). The two are very distinct interesting schools of thought among others‚ and there is quite a significant difference when it comes to concepts and ideas
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determine what is a clear and distinct idea? In other words‚ is there any way of knowing what is certain and what is not? The Meditations are generally considered the starting point of modern Western philosophy‚ and with good reason. In this one brief text‚ Descartes turns many of the old doctrines‚ created by Aristotle‚ upside down and frames many of the questions that are still being debated in philosophy today. Among other things‚ Descartes breaks down Aristotle’s notion that all knowledge comes via
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