Being a foundationalist, Descartes needs to destroy the foundations of
his beliefs so that in his Meditations he will be able to build upon new
foundations of undeniable and self evident truths. In order to do this Descartes
must first find a valid argument that will allow him to doubt his foundation
beliefs and in turn doubt what is considered to be reality. He begins by first
noting that one can not trust their own senses, because we can be deceived by
our sciences. An example of such would be if one looks at an optical illusion,
they are seeing something that is not really there, and therefore are being
deceived by their sense of sight. But this is not enough to justify doubting all
things, so Descartes offers a different approach, the Dream Argument.
The Dream Argument is essential in because it allows one to logically
question not only the senses but their surroundings and actions as well.
Although one can doubt that what they see or hear is not really as is perceived;
a person can not deny that they are for instance, standing, thinking about how
their senses are deceiving them, with their feet planted on the ground, in their
bedroom, feeling a little tired and so on. Only if one was, as Descartes writes,
'..insane, whose brains are impaired by such an unrelenting vapor of black
bile..' that they believe they are something other than what they are, would one
doubt reality, without an argument. The argument is as follows: If the
experience of a dream is indistinguishable between that dream and reality; and
there ...
Ancient Greece is known for its beautiful theaters and its skilled poets. One of the most famous ones at that time and famous even now is Homer. Nobody knows who he actually is but the works that he has created are far more than magnificent. The Odyssey and The Iliad are two poems that turned into myths, have actually been accepted as part of the h...
The term has a few meanings. It?s both a school of thought in the Hindu religion, and a system of mental and physical exercise developed by this school. All forms of yoga originated in India. People who follow this school, and practice any form of yoga are called yogis, or yogins. Students study under prolonged and careful guidance of the...
Shiga naoya - at kinosaki An Essay on 'At Kinosaki' by Shiga Noaya Background Facts about 'At Kinosaki' Shiga Naoya wrote "At Kinosaki" (Kinosaki ni te ) in 1917, when he was 34 years old. The story is based on his real experience in the autumn of 1913, when he was recovering at the hot springs of Kinosaki, from an accident which nearly t...
Drugs in Football: Making an Appropriate Decision Breaking the rules in football, because of drug use, is causing physical and mental damage to athletes and those who associate with them. It is also setting a bad example for the youth of America. There is just too many available drugs for football players today. For football p...
The advent of new technology has been a source of trepidation throughout history. Just as with any change, fear is often the pervasive response to new technology and developments, especially amongst those who do not fully comprehend the changes. It seems, however, that people ignorant of the true meaning and extent of technology are the most likely...