What Is The Reality Of Descartes And The Socially Acceptable Reality?

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Recommended: Criticisms against Descartes' philosophy

In his first meditation, Descartes proposes an argument unheard of by many, that of which the beliefs that are built upon societal foundations may be false, due to the false perception of our human senses. In this paper, I will explain why Descartes attempts to rebuild the foundations of our beliefs and explain the differences between the reality of Descartes and the socially acceptable reality. First, I will expand on Descartes ' argument against the socially accepted reality in which we do not question. Then, I will show you how Descartes defines what is truly a definitive constant of reality no matter the foundational structures they were built upon and defend it. Finally, I will use examples to show you how Descartes proves existence.
"Several years have now passed since I first realized how numerous were the false opinions that in my youth I had taken to be true, and thus how doubtful were all those that I had subsequently built upon them." Descartes begins his writing by informing us of the so-called "false opinions" we have accepted …show more content…

Understanding that which we accept without question and concluding our existence allows us to begin to view the world more critically, relying less on the senses and more on our minds. Starting anew allows Descartes to view existence and reality from a fundamental perspective, with no reliance on previous regards of knowledge. Doing so allowed Descartes to conclude that existence is proved through though, but I feel it also helped Descartes differentiate reality and existence. Personally, I believe reality is a choice of our choosing, existence is the result. We can choose to bring something into reality, but we cannot choose whether it

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