All Questions
Tagged with descartes epistemology
44
questions
4
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2
answers
114
views
Descartes Statement in Second Meditation is illogical?
In the second paragraph of Meditation Two: Concerning the Nature of the Human Mind: That it is better known than the Body, Descartes writes
“Therefore I suppose that everything I see is false. I ...
- 307
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3
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981
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Does 'cogito ergo sum' actually establish the existence of an objective truth/reality?
Before I start describing my questions, I would like to draw some background on my understanding and knowledge of Descartes' ontological(metaphysical) views regarding the cogito and philosophy in ...
- 1,539
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3
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273
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If the external world indeed exists, would the ontological nihilism idea be conclusively refuted?
Descartes’ cogito has been discussed and, in many’s minds’, refuted ad nauseam. Anywhere you’ll read about ‘nothingness’, you’re likely to encounter some discussion on Descartes and his self-believed ...
2
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0
answers
111
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How can Descartes intuit/think without memory?
Descartes presented the Memory response against the cartesian circle. Descartes assumed the reliability of intuition all along. The doubt he laid to rest by proving God's existence is one of memory: ...
- 684
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180
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How did Descartes made a logical skeptic argument against logic, without falling into a paradox, in his Metaphysical Meditations? Is it actually valid
René Descartes seems to have made some arguments against logic and mathematics in his Metaphysical Meditations, however it seems that these arguments are still logical, and the problem is whether that ...
- 51
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2
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381
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Can Cogito, ergo sum be formalized?
I was wondering lately whether Descartes argument for the existence of undoubtable truth could be formalized. I tried to formalize his argument in FOL, but only his light version proving that there ...
- 163
1
vote
0
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75
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Contributions of Descartes
What ideas did Descartes have about knowledge and reality that were so incongruent with the prevailing neo-Aristotelian paradigm of knowing the real essences of things through abstracting from sense ...
- 508
5
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1
answer
146
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Descartes and his taxonomy of ideas
Given the context of philosophical ideas such as tabula rasa, empiricism, and rationalism, René Descartes is known for his philosophy of mind and his attempt to analyze thinking as well as his ...
2
votes
1
answer
158
views
Is thinking an activity of a subject?
I am interested in the question of whether thinking must be an activity of a subject. Is it true that thinking has no reality without being a mode of the subject? Could it be possible that there is ...
0
votes
0
answers
61
views
Self-evident vs. self-explanatory vs. ...?
How far apart are these descriptions? I was approaching the issue from the perspective of erotetic logic, and my intuition is that self-evidence is when a proposition is evident from its erotetic ...
- 16.7k
2
votes
1
answer
389
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Why is mind/body duality so widely accepted?
It seems strange that Cartesian mind/body duality is so widely accepted, given that it leads to scepticism around the possibility of human knowledge.
Why is it so widely accepted, and how do its ...
user37981
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89
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How can beliefs be justified when they are always subject to Cartesian skepticism?
It seems obvious to me that after glancing at my watch I "know" what time it is. But this apparent "knowledge" can be explained away by infinitely many skeptical hypotheses. ...
- 1,000
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2
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152
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Is the argument "Cogito ergo sum" compatible with metaphysical nihilism?
Metaphysical nihilism says that there might not be any objects at all.
I'm not interested in whether there are potential problems with this viewpoint. One problem could be that "Cogito" can't come ...
- 193
0
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1
answer
159
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Is existence a necessary condition for thinking? [closed]
Is existence a necessary condition for thinking?
Descartes argues that because he thinks, he exists. But wouldn't he have to exist in the first place for him to:
A) Think and
B) Realize that he ...
- 508
-1
votes
1
answer
197
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Questions on Descartes' Certainty? [closed]
1)What is the certainty that Descartes discovers in the Second Meditation?
2)What does Descartes go on to attempt to prove in the Third Meditation and how is this proof related to what was ...
