Section 6
Renee Descartes’ philosophy was very a methodical and
deep study involving questioning reality. His development of the Method of
Cartesian Doubt helped him to establish what he could truly accept as a valid
answer to a question.
His
famous quote, “I think; therefore I am,” shows how he used his method of
questioning and reasoning to get to the truth of the matter. His intense
emphasis on mathematics and sciences influenced these ideas, and lead some to
say that he is the father of modern philosophy.
Descartes example of questioning
reality, or as he says you can look at the statement, “I am awake reading this
right now,” and find the answer by accepting that it is a valid statement
without any other doubt. If you have ever seen the movie Inception http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/plotsummary
starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph
Gordon-Levitt, it has Descartes ideas down to a science. The movie is based on
the fact that it is possible to achieve an “inception” of the brain while
dreaming. The idea that you can convince someone of something (such as a
statement or action) inside a dream, and it will affect that person’s thought
process outside the dream. The hardest part, as they examine in the movie, is
the perception of reality. Once you go far enough into the dream, there is a
point where you cannot differentiate between reality and the dream. They use a
special token item (Leonardo DiCaprio’s is a spinning top) —the one thing that convinces
them, without a Cartesian Doubt as Descartes would say—that allows them to know
they are in the “real world”. The spinning top falls if he is in reality
because of the force of gravity which is absent in dreams. Needless to say,
Descartes ideas are highly influential in the ideas presented in
Inception.
Going further on the topic of dreaming,
Descartes credited his passion for philosophy through the visions that came to
him. Whether these were an effect of the “nervous breakdown” that he was
claimed to have, Descartes philosophy still, was very influential to many
students
Descartes also, used the method of
Ontological and Trademark arguments to provide his argument that God does
exist. As the Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy describes, “[Descartes thought] Existence is derived immediately from the clear and
distinct idea of a supremely perfect being.”
This idea goes along with the
fact that Descartes could accept with no doubt that the definition of a God
would trump any argument that such God could not exist. How can something not
exist if that something IS
something? Many people will not accept this, although it is a valid argument.
Throughout all of Descartes questioning, it
does appear that someone can get closer to the truth, and, furthermore, use
reasoning to decide for themselves. In actuality isn’t that science by
definition: Coming closer to the truth by experimenting and using what we know
after experimenting and questioning? Science is always making use questions to
find the answer or answers. Through this Descartes’ hard work and philosophy
provide excellent inspiration.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-ontological/
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