What Is Descartes Method Of Doubt

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“I think, therefore I am.” Descartes famous quote that lead to his “method of doubt”. Also known as “Cartesian doubt”, Descartes states that all knowledge is derived from reason over emotions. That we must forget what we know and start from the scratch. To gain reliable knowledge, one must doubt everything he has ever known. Descartes believes to truly understand ourselves and our surrounding environment, we must reliably understand fact from fiction at its simplest form, and use that as a foundation to further expand on. ”I think, therefore I am”. Descartes knows that senses must not be trusted because they can be deceiving. For example, if I take a straw and place it in a cup of water, the straw will bend. This example clearly showcases how are senses can deceive us, …show more content…

So, everything we know from our senses, are no longer reliable and cannot be trusted when trying to understand fact or fiction. Furthermore, when trying to understand Descartes, we must understand “I think”. Descartes can doubt his body and all physical things, but he cannot doubt his own mind because he can doubt, and to doubt means to think. Now that he knows for certain that he is a thinking thing, “therefor I am”. Using his method, we can now advance from there using reason. Reason over everything, the basis of the method of doubt. This measure of thinking is night and day when compared to none other than David Hume. The Scottish philosopher David Hume takes Descartes method of doubt and tosses it in the crapper. Hume has a much-altered view on rationalism and Descartes’s doubt method. Especially Descartes trashing of senses and feeling.

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