U9 Lecture Notes

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C138

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Philosophy

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Jan 9, 2024

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U9—Descartes’ Methodological Doubt Review : The Rivers of Antiquity 1. Plato under the mystical influence of Plotinus in the West 2. Classical Platonism in the East 3. Aristotle in the Arab South The Renaissance (1400-1550)—Rebirth of the art and culture of antiquity - Humans are at home in the world - Created to interpret and hold dominion over nature - Technical achievements made this possible—compass, firearms, printing press - Seeing nature as a cornucopia of resources Scholasticism, end of the Middle Ages (1300’s)—debate about what counts as knowledge Reintroduction of Aristotle into the European world—Natural philosophy, empiricism The empirical method of science—investigation of phenomena through observation, experience, and experiment *This is the state of knowledge when Descartes arrives on the scene* Rene Descartes (1596-1650)—Father of Modern Philosophy & Analytical Geometry - Rationalism (trust reason) o Descartes finalizes the work begun by Aquinas in his Christianizing of Aristotle - Empiricism (trust senses) o Descartes doesn’t seek synthesis. o He creates absolute separation between the rational mind and the physical world allows for the empirical trusting of the senses - Three philosophical threads meet in the question of Descartes - Transcendence vs immanence
o Is there a soul that transcends the body? - Rationalism vs empiricism o Which is the source of our knowledge? - Metaphysics vs materialism o What is the role of the mind vs body? In the line of the rationalist, pure reason should be in command - Certain knowledge is only obtainable through reason: The more clearly and distinctly we perceive something (in our minds) the more likely it is to be true. o Clearly = without confusion o Distinctly = from other things and unmistakable - He looked for something certain on which to build his system of knowledge - He sought a certain and exact method of philosophic reflection - He presented a new rationale for empiricism Archimedes (287-212 BC) - Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer - Archimedes is generally considered to be the greatest of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time - Archimedes sought only a firm and immovable point in order to move the entire earth As a mathematician, Descartes thought that he could break down compound problems into as many single factors as possible, and weigh and measure these each in the same way that Galileo thought everything should be measured or made measurable. - Descartes was looking to find a “philosophical Archimedean point” on which he could build secure knowledge. - His idea was to go from the simple to the complex and he constructed each new insight Since many of Descartes’ beliefs had turned out to be mistaken, he decided that he was going to deconstruct his beliefs by using a method of doubt. - Descartes’ Method of Doubt : o Anything he finds he can doubt, he sets temporarily aside as a truth claim. o He establishes 2 important criteria for his doubting method. 1. You don’t need to doubt each detail, just the foundational belief that one’s senses tell the truth about the world. 2. You do not need to prove that your belief is false, only that it is in doubt…and it is in doubt because at least on one occasion or more, your senses have deceived you. Descartes argues that similar thoughts men have while awake can occur while asleep. In as much as it is plausible that a dream could feel real, then, for all we know, we are dreaming. For all we know, there might not be an external world we deem as “real”. this was the theme of the Matrix
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