explain Descartes method of doubt? discuss it with using examples PDF

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discuss Descartes method of doubt. explain briefly with examples. included meditation of first and second philosophy....

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INT INTRO RO RODU DU DUCT CT CTION ION René Descartes (March 31, 1596 – February 11, 1650) was a highly influential French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer. He was widely known as the "Founder of Modern Philosophy", and the "Father of Modern Mathematics".He invented the Cartesian coordinate system. His two major works were Discourse on the method (1637) and the Meditation of first principle (1641). At the time of Descartes in the 17th century, there was a domination of the Christianised version of Aristotelian philosophy, but Descartes believes that Philosophy must rest on pure reason and not on tradition. He rejected the dogmatic church traditions and works of his predecessors and their literature and wants to form his own indubitable theory of knowledge which would be built on clear and distinct ideas. He wants to bring into philosophy the kind of clarity and certainty which is found in mathematics.

DE DESCA SCA SCART RT RTES ES ME METH TH THOD OD In order to bring this mathematical certainty and for the search infallible first principles Descarte in his discourse gave his method of systematic doubt which is also known as "cartesian doubt".He begins with doubting everything and rejecting anything that was not completely certain and indubitable. Being both rationalist and foundationalist he seeks to found or base human knowledge on secure and foundations which could be worked through reason alone. Thus he leads the epistemological demolition of his prior beliefs so that a certain theory of knowledge can be built. "It i s tr true ue th that at we ha have ve no exam xample ple of pe peopl opl ople e dem demolis olis olishi hi hing ng all th the e hou house se ses s in a tow town n for the s ole pur purpos pos pose e of r ebui ebuildin ldin lding g the them m in a dif differ fer ferent ent way to m ake the s tre treet et ets s mor more e bea beauti uti utiful ful b ut on one e does see m any pe peopl opl ople e kno knock ck do down wn their ow own n in or order der to re rebui bui build ld th them, em, an and d tha thatt eve even n in so some me case ases s the theyy have to do th this is be becaus caus cause e th the e hou house se ses s are in d ange angerr of fa fallin llin lling g down an and d the foun oundat dat dation ion ions s are ins insecu ecu ecure" re" re".. De Descar scar scarte te tes s in his ar argum gum gument ent to demo demolis lis lish h ever everyt yt ything hing an and d star startt afr afres es esh h appli applies es th the e unive univers rs rsal al cha charact ract racter er an and d give gives s the analo nalogy gy of a bas baske ke kett fu full ll of ap apples ples ples.. - He explains that in order to select and retain good apples and discard bad ones from a basket, it would be wiser for us to empty the basket completely at first and then select the good ones and keep them back in the basket. He believes in first rejecting all beliefs as if they were false and then after careful analysis, adopt only the ones, which are true. "Ea "Each ch pr proble oble oblem m th that at I s olve olved d bec became ame a r ule ule,, whi which ch se serve rve rved d aft afterw erw erwards ards to so solve lve ot other her pr prob ob oblems lems lems"" The basic strategy of Descartes's method of doubt was threefold in which first is to de defe fe feat at sce scepti pti pticis cis cism m on its own ground. He sought to build his philosophy on truth rather than probable and in order to find that truth he begins in search of self-evident principles like the axioms in euclidian geometry. By this example, he means that we can search for self-evident first principle

on to which our theory can be deduced. Descartes rejects beliefs known by his senses on the grounds that “if yo you u have once b een de decei cei ceived ved by yo your ur s ens enses, es, then yo you u sho should uld al always ways be s cep ceptic tic tical al of the them.” m.” He argues that one may view a tower from a distance and think that it is a round-shape, but then upon closer examination, realize that it is, in fact, a square-shape. Even though the senses on the second occasion seem to correct the first incorrect perception, the senses have still once deceived you and therefore, according to Descartes, one still has grounds to be sceptical of them. He s ays for eg "alt "althou hou hough gh we ve very ry cl clear ear early ly se see e the s un, we oug ought ht not ther herefo efo efore re to det deter er ermin min mine e tha thatt it is only of the s ize whic hich h our s ens ense e of s ight pr pres es esent ent ents; s; an and d we may ve very ry dis disttinct inctly ly im imagine agine the hea head d of a lion j oin oined ed to the bo body dy of a goa goat, t, wi with th thout out b eing ther heref ef efore ore s hut up to th the e con conclus clus clusio io ion n tha thatt a chim chimaer aer aera a exis exists ts ts;; for it i s not a di dictat ctat ctate e of re reaso aso ason n tha thatt what we thu thus s see or imag imagine ine is i n rea realit lit lityy exis existe te tent nt nt;; but it pl plainl ainl ainlyy tell tells s us th that at all ou ourr idea ideas s or no notio tio tions ns co contai ntai ntain n in the them m som some e tr truth uth uth". ". He then raised a more systematic method for doubting the legitimacy of all sensory perception. Since my most vivid dreams are internally indistinguishable from waking experience, he argued, it is possible that everything I now "perceive" to be part of the physical world outside me is, in fact, nothing more than a fanciful fabrication of my own imagination. Furthermore, Descartes presents an idea of a malicious demon and claims that if there were a God that was the cause of everything in the world, then it possible that he deceives the mind into thinking the wrong things. He then concludes that because God is a benevolent God, it would be contradictory of his nature to be a deceiver, and therefore God is not a deceiver, and there is no malicious demon. Thus we are being deceived. However We can trust our powers of reasoning—that is, we can be justified in regarding them as a reliable source of knowledge—only if we can rule out the second possibility and others like it. Therefore, our powers of reasoning are not by themselves a reliable source of knowledge. Our reasoning powers must be combined with some further considerations—considerations that would rule out hypotheses such as the evil demon—before we can be justified in trusting them. Thus Descartes gave his own method which will help us solve all the difficulties which possess rules: a- Accept ideas as true and justified only if they are self-evident. an idea is self-evident if it is clear and distinct in one’s mind. b- Analysis: divide complex ideas into their simpler parts. c- Synthesis: reach complex ideas by starting with ideas that are the simplest to know.

d- Exhaustive and complete: the inquiry should be complete and comprehensive.

Therefore the Descartes says if this method is put to practice Descartes, the existence senescence only one principle that we cannot be any proposition which can be doubted that is "cogito ergo sum - I think therefore I exist" for which he gave an argument that one cannot doubt the fact that he is thinking, for by doubting that he is thinking, he is actually confirming it; for thinking presupposes doubting. In as much as thinking itself implies existence; that is, one has to exist before he can think; it follows necessarily that Descartes can derive the fact of his existence from his thinking essence. This way, he discovers his indubitable truth or first principle: ‘Cogito Ergo Sum,’ meaning, ‘I think, therefore, I exist.’ According to Descartes, this maxim is an indubitable truth, it cannot be doubted, for any attempt to doubt that, ‘I think, therefore I exist,’ is a confirmation of the fact of my existence, because doubting itself involves thinking, and one has to exist in order to think. Even if one is dreaming or is being deceived by an evil genius, it is further proof that one exists, since one must exist before he can dream or be deceived. On this, let Descartes speak for himself: ... I noti oticed ced that wh while ile I was ende ndeavour avour avourin in ing g ... to th think ink that ev every ery erythi thi thing ng wa was s fa false lse lse,, it was nece necess ss ssary ary that I, who was th think ink inking ing this his,, was s om ometh eth ething ing ing.. And obs obser er erving ving that this tru ruth th 'I am thi t her I ex was s o firm a nd su tha all th mos ex su think nk nking, ing, herefo efo efore re exist ist ist'' sure re thatt the e mostt extr tr travaga avaga avagant nt suppo ppo pposit sit sition ion ions s of the s cep ceptic tic tics s wer were e inca incapab pab pable le of s hak haking ing it it,, I deci decided ded that I co could uld acc accept ept i t wit withou hou houtt sc scrupl rupl ruple e as to to the firs irstt pr princi inci inciple ple of th the e phi philos los losoph oph ophyy I was s ee eekin kin king." g." CON CONCLU CLU CLUSIO SIO SION N Scepticism is thereby defeated, according to Descartes. No matter how many sceptical challenges are raised—indeed, even if things are much worse than the most extravagant sceptic ever claimed—there is at least one fragment of genuine human knowledge: thee perfect certainty of my own existence. From this starting-point, Descartes supposed, it is possible to achieve indubitable knowledge of many other propositions as well. Then the Descartes gave the argument for the existence of God that I have an idea of god and being an imperfect being I could not have derived the idea of a perfect god so the god must exist as the source of that very idea....