Rationalism Essay

question this story presents is “How do you distinguish reality from a dream?” Many people have experienced the feeling of waking up from a vivid realistic dream and wondering if they’re truly awake. The majority of people answer this question using rationalism and the famous philosopher, Descartes’, idea of “hyperbolic doubt”. This story gives a clear example of these ideas and how they are used.

Riley Fichter COMM 101, Sec. 33 October 7th, 2014 My goal is to inform the class about Benedict Spinoza’s Ethics: Part One. My central idea is how Spinoza’s idea of God brings a new perspective on existence to those who take the time to listen. Spinoza’s Ethics and You I. Introduction A. What is the truth behind the universe? B. Many people have asked themselves this question over the course of history. C. Today, however, I am going to focus in on one individual and explore his work around this subject:

John Locke, an empiricist belonging to seventeenth century philosophy, is well-known today for his An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In chapter ii of Book I of this work, Locke firmly rejects the theory of nativism that proposes innate ideas in humans. An important disclaimer to be noted before continuing is that Locke makes his case by first interpreting nativism in its simplest form (occurrent nativism) -- as opposed to the dispositional nativism that requires a sophisticated process of

The Philosophy of John Locke John Locke was born on August 29, 1632 in Wrington, England. His father was a lawyer and worked in the military during the English civil war. Locke was raised with puritan beliefs and received a thorough education because of his dad’s connection to the English government. During his time in school, Locke received the honor of “King’s Scholar” which paved the way for him to attended Christ Church, Oxford in 1652. In Oxford, Locke studied mathematics, metaphysics, and multiple

Philosophers David Hume and Renee Descartes have opposing views about the origination of ideas. Hume claims that all ideas are copies of impressions, which come from sensation. Descartes disagrees with this, arguing that in order to obtain knowledge, there must be a rational method for obtaining it, and that the senses are not a reliable source. This essay will present both philosopher’s arguments and compare and contrast each perspective regarding matters of knowledge and ideas. I will then argue

In Book I of, "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," John Locke presents his argument against innate ideas. Innate ideas are ideas that the human mind has had since birth. Philosophers like Descartes are well-known for their defense of innate ideas. For example, Descartes argues that the idea of God is an innate one and that all humans are born with the idea of god inside of themselves and they recognize this innate idea when they compare themselves to God and see what it is they lack (humans

Everyone has their own beliefs about where ideas come from and how they are formed. Locke and Descartes both had very different arguments about what the origin of these ideas was. Descartes believed that the origin of ideas stemmed from imagination or reason and that we have been born with all of the knowledge we need; we just have to come to an experience or age where we will know how to use it. Whereas Locke believed that the origin of ideas came from experience and we have to learn everything

Part 1: Rationalism. Rationalists believe that knowledge is essentially attained through reason rather than experience. Although there are several different theories that fall under rationalism, they all founded from this idea. Descartes came up with the approach of systematic doubt: if something can be doubted for whatever reason, then doubt it. The point of doing so was to determine whether it was possible to have actual knowledge or only to have mere speculations and opinions. The result of

Are ideas innate or not? First, I will present the debate on innate ideas as argued by Descartes on the affirmative, and John Locke on the negative. Descartes view that we do indeed have innate ideas which comes from his meditations concerning the idea of god. While Locke would argue that we do not have innate ideas and that is rooted in his belief that all knowledge is a result of our experiences. Descartes was a French philosopher who was a rationalist. Rationalists believe that all ideas are

1. Define empiricism. What was it in other philosophies that the empiricists opposed most? Empiricism is defined as anyone who beliefs that knowledge is gained primarily from sensory experience. Empiricists stress the importance of experience in the pursuit of gaining knowledge. The term experience is complicated in Empiricism since that are many different types of experiences. There are inner experiences such as dreams, and fantasies. There are inner thoughts, such as vivid mental experiences.