Armstrong Vs Descartes Essay

step, because I can take my idea that a perfect being (God) exists. Since this

Armstrong begins his paper with a question for the reader of what it means to have a mind. It is well understood that man has the ability to perceive, to think, to feel, and so on, but what does it mean to perceive, to think, and to feel? The answer, he believes, lies in science. Seeing that science is constantly and rapidly gaining ground, he asserts that “...we can give a complete account of man in purely physico-chemical terms” (295?) Pointing out the fact that this view has been accepted by various scientists throughout time, he explains it is the most reliable way to approach the mind-body problem.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the new world; the Native Americans lives were altered through the introduction of the Columbian Exchange, Cultural changes and loss of their homeland. Columbus's discovery of the new world sparked colonization of the Americas. There was an ample amount of vast, arable land thus creating economic opportunity for the wealthy and the common-man. The people longing for this opportunity intruded on the Native American's land and completely changed their way of life.

Mind-body dualism is usually seen as the central issue in philosophy of the mind. The problem with mind-body dualism is that it is unknown whether the mind really is a separate entity from the human body as Descartes states in his argument, or whether the mind is the brain itself. Descartes believed that in a person existed two major components, the physical body and the nonphysical body which was called the mind or soul. As a scientist, Descartes believed in mechanical theories of matter, however, he was also very religious and did not believe people could merely be mechanical creatures that ran like “clockwork.” And so, it was Descartes who argued that the mind directed thoughts. To account for this, he split the world into two parts,

     After he has established himself as a thinking thing, he then goes on to argue that the mind is more certainly known then the body. He goes on to say that it is possible that all knowledge of external objects, including his body, could be false as the result of the actions of an evil demon. It is not, however, possible that he could be deceived about his existence or his nature as a thinking thing. This is true because if he can be deceived about anything, then he can be certain, as he is a thinking thing.

The concept of self identifies the essence of one’s very being. It implies continuous existence having no other exact equal, i.e. the one and only. Whether or not the specific characteristic(s) used to define self are objectively real, i.e. physical attributes, or purely subjective, i.e. imaginary traits, the concept makes distinct one entity from another. Rationalism is the theory that truth can be derived through use of reason alone. Empiricism, a rival theory, asserts that truth must be established by sensual experience: touch, taste, smell, et al. Rene Descartes, a philosopher and rationalist concluded that one self was merely a continuous awareness of one’s own existence; one’s substance was one’s ability to think. On the other

Armstrong does a thorough job of supporting the soundness of his argument. He goes even further by offering an objection and a reply. The objection to Armstrong’s causal theory of mind is the same behaviorists were faced with. That is, it functions for the third-person case, but not the first-person case. The situation of the “automatic driver” is described. The driver is unaware of the fact that mental processes are going on, yet he continues to stay on the road. Armstrong answers this with the idea of consciousness as a higher order perception. He defines consciousness as “nothing but perception or awareness of the state of our own mind” and “a self scanning mechanism in the central nervous system”. The driver’s “inner eye” is shut and is unaware of what is going on inside his mind.

However, one must remember that by “mind” Descartes meant only “a thing that thinks” (Meditations, p. 20), which is to say that thinking is the essence of the mind. From this kernel of truth Descartes builds up the rest of his understanding of the mind and part of this understanding is that the mind is entirely accessible to itself and in this sense is one unified thing. However, today the

Rene Descartes’ third meditation from his book Meditations on First Philosophy, examines Descartes’ arguments for the existence of God. The purpose of this essay will be to explore Descartes’ reasoning and proofs of God’s existence. In the third meditation, Descartes states two arguments attempting to prove God’s existence, the Trademark argument and the traditional Cosmological argument. Although his arguments are strong and relatively truthful, they do no prove the existence of God.

There are three ways in which one is able to find truth: through reason (A is A), by utilizing the senses (paper burns) or by faith (God is all loving). As the period of the Renaissance came to a close, the popular paradigm for philosophers shifted from faith to reason and finally settling on the senses. Thinkers began to challenge authorities, including great teachers such as Aristotle and Plato, and through skepticism the modern world began. The French philosopher, René Descartes who implemented reason to find truth, as well as the British empiricist David Hume with his usage of analytic-synthetic distinction, most effectively utilized the practices of skepticism in the modern world.

Rene Descartes, a rationalist, said that each person contains the criteria for truth and knowledge in them. Finding truth and knowledge comes from the individual themselves, not necessarily from God. Descartes also believed that reason is the same for every single person. Descartes believed that nothing could be true unless we as humans could perceive it. He also believed that you could break down things into smaller simpler parts. Descartes also believed that there was a relationship between the mind and body. He also believed that the idea of being perfect originated from God since God himself was perfect. He also integrates his mathematical concepts into his methodology. Descartes also applied doubt to his ideas before he

It is the purpose of this essay to examine both Descartes’ Cogito argument and his skepticism towards small and universal elements, as well as the implications these arguments have on each other. First, I will summarize and explain the skepticism Descartes’ brings to bear on small and universal elements in his first meditation. Second, I will summarize and explain the Cogito argument, Descartes’ famous “I think, therefore I am” (it should be noted that this famous implication is not actually something ever said or written by Descartes, but instead, an implication taken from his argument for his own existence). Third, I will critique the line of reasoning underlying these arguments. Descartes attacks

Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo) is considered, by popular belief in the United States of America, to be the “Father of the Americas”. Columbus was not the first European to reach mainland in the Western Hemisphere, but his efforts did lay the path to settlement of the “New World”. Like Christopher Columbus, Neil Armstrong was a pioneer in his own right; he is the “Father of Space”. Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong were obviously two very different people based on the times in which each of the men lived; what was not different, were the characteristics and qualities that both men shared.

I believe Armstrong suggests “we have to know how to read our scriptures” because it depends a lot on our religious belief how we interpret things. Catholics do not take everything from the Bible literally. For example, he talks about the book of Genesis, and as a catholic I had always believed that the story was exactly how it is narrated in the Bible! And one day, I was told that they were just stories created so that we could better understand God’s message, but that they never happened. As a catholic, it is important to know how to read my scriptures because God talks to us through the Bible. However, there are always people that take things to the extremes and interpret the Bible at their convenience. Another example of why we have to

Descartes has a very distinct thought when thinking about the mind, and how it relates to the body, or more specifically then brain. He seems to want to explain that the mind in itself is independent from the body. A body is merely a physical entity that could be proven to be true scientifically and also can be proven through the senses. Such things are not possible with the meta-physical mind because it is independent of the body. Building on his previous premises, Descartes finally proves whether material things exist or not and determines whether his mind and body are separate from each other or not. In Meditation Six, Descartes lays the foundation for dualism which has become one of the most important arguments in philosophy.