Descartes Six Meditations on First Philosophy Essay

Throughout the six meditations on First Philosophy, French philosopher Rene Descartes seeks to find a concrete foundation for the basis of science, one which he states can only include certain and unquestionable beliefs. Anything less concrete, he argues will be exposed to the external world and to opposition by philosophical sceptics. The sense of the Cartesian reform is the imposition of a new method of thinking. Descartes’ method to begin with is reductive, removing all knowledge acquired without control, to become analytical, putting forward any knowledge in a process of division to present simple elements, those which are clear and distinct. In his philosophical thinking, certain parts are dedicated to scepticism, dualism between†¦show more content†¦The Sixth meditation is the most complex, representing a genuine summary of the previous five. He feels the need to more precisely clarify and distinguish between what was a mind game, in respect to methodical doubt and what should be known as a reasonable truth, in a more geometrical view. Descartes argues the existence of material things appealing to imagination, which he placed first at a level of geometrical objects which refers to expansion. As geometry hosts the necessity and universality and it is granted by Devine perfection, results that e ven real which exists under its incidence in imagination must exist. As a result he separates understanding from imagination, stating that the human mind exists separately from the body, yet are joined to form a unit. It is important to note that Descartes does not claim to have reached a concrete and stable foundation. His claim to certainty of his ideas regarding existence and knowledge extends further past his own interpretation. I believe that for Descartes, mathematics represents the ideal knowledge needed to follow philosophy in order to produce genuine variables. Ideal knowledge of mathematics drives Descartes to find, in regards to philosophy such solid foundations as geometry has, based on its axioms. Geometry’s axioms are true because they are evident through themselves. Their truth cannot be questioned because we cannot think coherently againstShow MoreRelatedEssay about Biography f Rene Descartes864 Words   |  4 PagesRene Descartes was a brilliant man who was born on March 31st, 1596. He was born in a small town in the South of France, named La Haye. Rene Descartes lived from 1596-1650. He was the son of an intellectual councilor in Parliament, named Joachim Descartes. His mother, Jeanne Brochard, died when he was only 1 years old. Rene Descartes was 8 years old when he attended the Jesuit College of Henry VI in La Fleche. 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