Mr Leibniz, Philosopher And Philosopher

"It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my being; all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct. A strange multiplicity of sensations seized me, and I saw, felt, heard, and smelt at the same time; and it was, indeed, a long time before I learned to distinguish between the operations of my various senses. By degrees, I remember, a stronger light pressed upon my nerves, so that I was obliged to shut my eyes. Darkness then came over me and troubled me, but hardly had I felt this when, by opening my eyes, as I now suppose, the light

The resources of the soul are immense and go far beyond our highest imagination. We do not know our soul’s potential, however, we do know that it is almost immeasurable.Finally, both men believe that the imagination can uplift and change our lives.

But in order to further clarify this "thing that thinks,” he admits that there is always the possibility that he may be dreaming or deceived by an evil demon, since he is something that also imagines and senses seen. (13,15). He elaborates on this idea that if he is after

Human reason has been one of the guiding principles in our society since the beginning of time and because action is preceded by thought, these two go hand in hand. Every choice we make is based on our thinking process, differentiating between what is good or bad, and contemplating cause and effect. Machiavelli, Locke, and Marx all have distinct conceptions of human nature, which has led to a variety of conclusions regarding the political structures of society that still have resonance today, which goes to show how much of an impact their theories have.

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

Recalling his previous thoughts in Meditation Two, the Meditator supposes that what he sees does not exist, that his memory is faulty, that he has no senses and no body, and that extension, movement and place are mistaken notions. Perhaps, he remarks, the only certain thing remaining is that there is no certainty. Although this argument often seems logical and fully-developed, Descartes uses this meditation to as inspiration prove that perhaps there is one thing that is absolutely certain in the universe: his existence.

From this thought, he makes the conclusion that “the nature of this piece of wax isn’t revealed by my imagination, but is perceived by the mind alone”

An idea can be known without its thinker being conscious of the idea in question.

Claude McKay continues on and compares the soul to a star in the sky in order to emphasize that the soul is bright like a star, visible to the naked eye, but it is exposed to so many things. We generally keep our desires hidden within us, even from ourselves. When we question ourselves about our thoughts then it is almost like we are exposing

In Meditations 2, the meditator asks two questions, the first question being “Do I even exist?”, and the second question being “What am I?” He knows he exists because he is a thinking thing. A thinking thing is anything that doubts, affirms, is willing, and also imagines/sense perceptions. The meditator says, “I cannot deny that I exist. I am clear and distinct. My thoughts may all be false, but the fact that I have them proves that I at least exist.” So, in the strict sense, we are only thinking things. But, for how long? The meditator answers this and says that we are thinking things as long as we are thinking. This is known as the Cogito. The underlying definition of this term is that as long as we are thinking, we are proving our own existence.

Niccolo Machiavelli and John Locke are, in simple terms, two vastly different kinds of people. They were separated by nearly two centuries, and lived in two different countries. Despite their contradictions on sovereignty, both Locke and Machiavelli shared a primary concern- the betterment of society.

He then begins to address the problem of imagination. If he realizes that things are around him, that rules out the possibility that he is imagining such entities. He says that imagination is not essential to his existing, so he removes himself from these thoughts.

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest -a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affections for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its body.”

A mind's reports of its own affairs has a certainty superior to the best that is possessed by its reports of matters in the physical world. Direct access to the workings of a mind is the privileged of that mind

That is to say one’s impressions are continuously fluctuating each moment of the day, from pleasure to pain, “For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call my self, I always stumble on some particular perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure, color or sound.” (Hume, pg. 145) Therefore, according to Hume, if the concept of ‘self’ is dependent on a constant, everlasting impression, but there is not a single impression that does persevere over the course of one’s life, there can then be no true idea of self “...I never catch my self, distinct from some such perception.” (Hume, pg. 145)