Descartes and hume. Descartes' Cogito Argument and Hume's Critique of the Self 2022-10-20

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René Descartes and David Hume were two influential philosophers who made significant contributions to the field of philosophy. While both philosophers grappled with fundamental questions about the nature of reality and the human experience, their approaches and conclusions were quite different.

Descartes is perhaps best known for his philosophical maxim, "Cogito, ergo sum," or "I think, therefore I am." This simple statement encapsulates his method of doubt, which he used to systematically question all of his beliefs in order to arrive at certain knowledge. Descartes argued that the only thing he could be certain of was his own existence, as he was able to doubt the existence of everything else. From this foundation, he attempted to build a system of knowledge that would be indubitable.

Hume, on the other hand, took a more skeptical approach to philosophy. He argued that it is impossible to arrive at certain knowledge, and that all of our beliefs are ultimately based on our experiences and observations. Hume was particularly interested in the nature of causation, and he argued that our belief in cause and effect is not based on reason, but rather on our habit and custom.

Despite their differences, both Descartes and Hume had a significant impact on the field of philosophy. Descartes' method of doubt has been highly influential, and his contributions to the fields of mathematics and science have had lasting impacts. Hume's skepticism has also had a lasting impact, and his work on causation is still studied and debated by philosophers today.

Overall, the philosophies of Descartes and Hume represent two different approaches to understanding the world around us. While Descartes sought certain knowledge through the use of reason, Hume argued that our understanding of the world is ultimately limited by our experiences and observations. Both philosophers made significant contributions to the field of philosophy, and their ideas continue to be studied and debated to this day.

Compare And Contrast Descartes And Hume

descartes and hume

Hume on the other hand, took a different approach to the idea of self. Hume then deploys several different sceptical arguments which seek to demonstrate that our belief forming processes are indeed self-undermining. He views it as a reflection of selfsame awareness. To be sure, they could be made to produce words in response to their surroundings and physical stimuli. Next, Descartes slides from this less radical way of taking the dreaming hypothesis to a more radical one. Because of this claim, he believed that obtaining real knowledge was impossible.

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Descartes ; Hume's Theory on Knowledge (600 Words)

descartes and hume

Unable to have confidence in in anything, Descartes had arrived at a juncture where he was required to commence a reconstruct by examining the mind for certainty. Moreover, he defines impressions as sensations that people experience in daily activities. Perhaps this assumption is just false. Although similar in their beliefs, the two have some quite key differences in the way they view empiricism. It is clear that, in Descartes view, sensory knowledge had been thoroughly undermined before the sceptical hypotheses were introduced.

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Rene Descartes and David Hume: Nature of Knowledge

descartes and hume

Having noted in the passage quoted above that inconclusive evidence leaves the rational believer indifferent as to what he ought to believe, Descartes completes the passage by linking this fact with the psychological efficacy of the sceptical doubt: My experience in the last few days confirms this: the mere fact that I found that all my previous beliefs were in some sense open to doubt was enough to turn my absolutely confident belief in their truth into the supposition that they were wholly false. The main aim of this paper is to look into the arguments presented by Rene Descartes and David Hume on the issue of the self. The facts that Hume provides to question the existence of the self are inadequate. To give us a recipe for doing this in the case of every such judgement would be to abolish reason's reflective control over belief by means of reason alone. Humes diminishes straightforward and convoluted perceptions. So on this side I have to give rationalism the edge.

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Analysis Of Skepticism Of Descartes And Hume: [Essay Example], 1149 words GradesFixer

descartes and hume

My belief is that one must doubt everything that has been taught to us until we can confirm the legitimacy. Selby-Bigge Oxford: Oxford University Press. In looking for the wrongness of an action The vice entirely escapes you, as long as you consider the object. Now one might try to establish the fallibility of each of our claims to knowledge by going through them one by one, highlighting ways in which we might be wrong. Humes creates two sub faculties of thinking and inclusive imagination. To this end, every real idea must be derived from the impressions unique to the self.

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Hume And Descartes's Philosophical Views On Knowledge, Perception, And Imagination

descartes and hume

The kind of knowledge he seeks is one we can achieve without doubt. Descartes believes consciousness is the essence of thinking and the core of which we can explore our existence. Williams 1978: Chapter 6 and Wilson 1978: 139-50. In each and every case, there will be local sources of error which you didn't eliminate. Our reality is what we can use to make reason of everything not only in our own individual world, but also in others. He believed in totally ignoring everything previous philosophers had done, and starting new, as if their work had never happened.

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Descartes vs Hume Example

descartes and hume

Descartes spoke ideas by representing things in mind, bringing out objective reality as a representation that contains virtues. Thus not allowing us to be completely certain of anything. Couldn't such a thing be happening now? Pain and pleasure, grief and joy, passions and sensations succeed each other, and never all exist at the same time. SCEPTICISMS: DESCARTES AND HUME The role of Professor McLaughlin's sceptic is to introduce certain 'sceptical hypotheses', hypotheses which imply the falsity of most of what we believe about the world. Their sceptical problem is more than the problem posed by the sceptical hypotheses.

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SCEPTICISMS: DESCARTES AND HUME

descartes and hume

First, Descartes ascertains that inaccuracy of the senses is plausible by appealing to the example of a stick distorted in water as mentioned in the Sixth Replies 64-65. He also voices strong objections to the idea that there could be no impression of the self. He contradicts himself since he claims that one can discover their self through reflection. Then he says that the intellect only allows us to perceive ideas, not to make judgments on them which causes this not be the source of error. They arise once we begin thinking and reasoning. Matters of fact are debatable, such as the belief in a God or that the world will end. Descartes' argument was that whatever doubt I may have, I cannot doubt that I am doubting - that I exist as doubting and, in general, thinking, and even an evil genius cannot trick me into thinking that I am doubting.

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DESCARTES AND HUME » EssayGroom

descartes and hume

There is an obvious conflict in Descartes thinking here. Indeed, theses advancements aroused questions on how do human beings acquire knowledge, and whether or not science was the source of people comprehension of reality. His conception of objective truth is durability and perception of reality that can only be thought of in mind, not through imagination. For both of them 1 Reason controls belief by means of the subject's judgements of the quality of their reasons for belief. Hence, for Hume, sympathy is a feature shared by all humans, and that feature which provides a basis for ethics.


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