Perspectives on Human Reason
Human reason is a topic that, without a doubt, can have multiple outlooks by various individuals. Descartes believed that reason was the ultimate cornerstone of human knowledge, while Pascale believed that reason alone could not allow someone to attain knowledge. He felt there were limits on reason. Both tried, to the best of their ability, to back their beliefs and make others see their point of view.
Descartes doubted the senses and believed that people only knew things through the content of their mind through human reason. Descartes used logical deductive reasoning to question the certainty of the senses. He states, “I have found that these senses sometimes deceive me, and it is a matter of prudence never to confide completely in those who have deceived us even once” (Descartes 26). His basic question that he sought to find the answer for is very complex yet seems so simple when reflecting upon it.
How can we actually know things, for certain? How do we know that the sky is actually blue, or that the earth is round? Is there any certain proof to reveal the fact of anything? Are the ideas we form in our minds and perceptions we have the truth? These are the types of things Descartes thought about. He questioned the certainty of absolutely everything. “I have no senses at all; body, figure, extension, movement and place are chimeras. What will, then, be true? Perhaps just this one thing: that there is nothing cer...
René Descartes was a French philosopher who refused to believe that true knowledge was obtainable through the means of sense perception. Descartes believed that the senses; as we know them, could be manipulated and twisted into providing false understanding of the external world. In the search for the truth amongst what we perceive in life, Descartes is justified in his claims that our senses cannot be trusted. Only by questioning all that is known as human beings, can one find the absolute truth in life. Through the use of two different thought experiments, Descartes uses reasoning to questions what we perceive as reality and truth.
According to Descartes, “because our senses sometimes deceive us, I wanted to suppose that nothing was exactly as they led us to imagine (Descartes 18).” In order to extinguish his uncertainty and find incontrovertible truth, he chooses to “raze everything to the ground and begin again from the original foundations (Descartes 59).” This foundation, which Descartes is certain to be the absolute truth, is “I think, therefore I am (Descartes 18).” Descartes argues that truth and proof of reality lies in the human mind, rather than the senses. In other words, he claims that the existence of material objects are not based on the senses because of human imperfection. In fact, he argues that humans, similarly to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, are incapable of sensing the true essence or existence of material objects. However, what makes an object real is human thought and the idea of that object, thus paving the way for Descartes’ proof of God’s existence. Because the senses are easily deceived and because Descartes understands that the senses can be deceived, Descartes is aware of his own imperfection. He
Rene Descartes’ greatest work, Meditations on First Philosophy, attempts to build the base of knowledge through a skeptical point of view. In the First Meditation, Descartes argues that his knowledge has been built on reason and his senses, yet how does he know that those concepts are not deceiving him? He begins to doubt that his body exists, and compares himself to an insane person. What if he is delusional about his social ranking, or confused about the color of his clothes, or even unaware of the material that his head is made of? This is all because the senses are deceiving, even in our dreams we experience realistic visions and feelings. Finally, Descartes comes to the conclusion that everything must be doubted, and begins to build his
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Christianity is one of the largest and most powerful religions in the world with Jesus Christ being the main figure that is most celebrated. Jesus is known to be a man of kindness and wisdom with a connection with his assumed father (God) that makes Christians want to follow his footsteps. Buddhism is a religion that may not actually be a religion as its guidelines do not highlight one true ruler but that there is divine wisdom in everyone. What has fascinated me is the parallels between the two religions that have few similarities in foundation have many in practices. Throughout this paper there will be explanation on what Christ consciousness truly is along with Buddha nature and how as different as they might seem in reality they are one and the same.
Rene Descartes and David Hume both have had a profound effect on the philosophical world. Both these philosophers are associated explicitly with two separate schools of philosophy which are Rationalism and Empiricism. It is this division between Rationalism and Empiricism that allows for Descartes and Hume to present differing accounts of the mind and mentality.
Descartes wants to establish that his knowledge is certain and not doubtful. He states, ...I had accepted many false opinions as being true, and that what I had based on such insecure principles could only be most doubtful and uncertain; so that I had to undertake seriously once in my life to rid myself of all opinions I had adopted up to then, and to begin, and to begin afresh from the foundations, if I wished to establish something firm and constant in the sciences.(Descartes 95) By this Descartes means that he wishes to establish a foundation for his knowledge based on certainty instead of doubt. Descartes first looks at the senses. This is important because the senses are the first thing to cause doubt. He focuses on the perception of things.
I contend that, based upon the arguments presented in the Second Meditation, Descartes shows that we can use our senses to help us understand the true nature of things, but the senses alone are inadequate to determine truth (since they are often deceived), and that all that may be known with certainty (truth) are those things we know by our judgment, thinking, and understanding of them in our minds. Descartes' argument does not necessarily reject any role of the senses in the process of understanding.
Descartes asserts knowledge is done through experimentation using a scientifc method to removing opinions, and come up with a solution to conflicts. In the Discourse on Method, Descartes describes his unique style of reasoning, and makes clear that his main goal for writing is to solve epistemology, or the theory of knowledge. Similar to Socrates, Descartes sensory perceptions cause a false belief in the world around us, he believes one needs to be thinking on the intelligible level, however Descartes provides a different method to achieving this goal.
Buddhism is centered upon the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha, whereas Christianity is centered on the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ. Buddhism is a nontheistic religion, i.e., it does not believe in a supreme creator being God. Christianity is a monotheistic religion and believes that Christ Is the Son Of God. In Christianity, they believe in Jesus. Christianity is monotheistic because they only believe in one God, unlike Buddhism whom believes in several Gods. First and foremost, I will start by looking at the various similarities between Buddhism and Christianity. Both religions are based on the golden rule which concerns individual wellbeing as well as the interests of other people. Both Lord Buddha and Jesus Christ taught their disciples about the welfare of all human beings. They encouraged their followers to do good to others the same way they would like others do unto them. Jesus and Buddha preached the importance of social values and ethics. Both Buddha and Jesus rejected and highly condemned excessive asceticism and emphasized on self-liberation. Both Buddhism and Christianity doctrines lay emphasis on equal love for all human beings. According to Buddhism, this love should be extended to human beings as well as other living things. Similarly, Christian doctrines are based on the principle of loving a neighbor as much as one loves him/herself. This special kind of love, usually referred to as Agape by Christians, begins at individual levels and should be extended to all people, including friends and enemies. Both Buddhism and Christianity entail worships that involve use of rosaries, incense and performance of rituals among other spiritual practices. Buddhists and Christians worship through personal confessions, monasticism, bowing before holy images and mediations. Often, bells are rung to indicate transitions within prayer
Descartes does make a good point on not trusting our senses. Why, because how do we really know if it’s real or not, or if we are dreaming or if it’s an illusion, and/or if’s an evil demon that is trying to treat us. That’s why Descartes divides the mind and body because the only thing that we can trust is our mind. If we think something then it’s our own thoughts that create that idea, therefore it is our own act that isn’t being deceived by anyone or any evil demon. The mind is the only
So, everything we know from our senses, are no longer reliable and cannot be trusted when trying to understand fact or fiction. Furthermore, when trying to understand Descartes, we must understand “I think”. Descartes can doubt his body and all physical things, but he cannot doubt his own mind because he can doubt, and to doubt means to think. Now that he knows for certain that he is a thinking thing, “therefor I am”. Using his method, we can now advance from there using reason. Reason over everything, the basis of the method of doubt. This measure of thinking is night and day when compared to none other than David Hume.
Additionally, both Christianity and Buddhism have faced reduced influence and number of believers in their countries of origin. Both religions have suffered from decreased number of followers in countries where they first originated, for example, Christianity originated from Egypt which is currently dominated by Islamic religion. Buddhism and Christianity got wiped out of their countries of origin. Today, the two religions are followed majorly by people who do not have direct relation to the races of traditional founders of the
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Imagine walking across the stage in just a few years from now. Having thousands of eyes pointed at you as you take that emotional walk to finally receive your high school diploma. After a few years when you have graduated high school and started life, you're going to look back and think, what have I accomplished so far? Extracurricular activities can be very beneficial for students now, and those in the future as well. They can allow you to feel like you have accomplished something while in school. Extracurricular activities are important because they can benefit a student through personal, educational, and even social means. It is a great idea to get more students involved in extracurricular activities and parents should begin to give their kids a little push to get them more involved.