Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Descartes and Thomas Hobbes On The Natural World - College Paper

Descartes and Thomas Hobbes On The Natural World

Rene Descartes concludes that we cannot have knowledge of the natural world unless all our beliefs are based on our own internal consciousness. He contends that no matter how much we see or experience of the natural world we will have better understanding by simply looking inward to our own born intelligence.

...in other words, Descartes is inviting us to accept the assumption that, however extreme our doubts about what exists 'out there', there will be a more fundamental level of certainty, relating to inner consciousness and its contents. (Descartes, 1998, p. 9)

Though out of context Descartes' summation may not seem to be plausible yet within the context of his perception the ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

1998, p. 51)

In this commonly sited Descartes quote associated with the very ideas at hand sums up his opinion on the issue of perceived versus innate knowledge.

'It does not seem to me that the human mind is capable of conceiving quite distinctly and at the same time both the distinction between mind and body and their union; because to do so, it is necessary to conceive them as a single thing, and at the same time to conceive them as two things, which is self-contradictory ( AT , iii, p.693). (Grene, 1998, p. 19)

The influx of outside influences and the natural over-stimulating effect of to many factors for one individual mind to separate each into its own right, and from its own physical self defines the concepts of his work on knowledge acquisition.

To understand Descartes's arguments (and, later, the comparable arguments of Hobbes), we must remember that the skeptical attack on natural science had emphasized the impossibility of accurate observation of ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.

Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE:

APA
MLA
Chicago
Turabian

Descartes and Thomas Hobbes On The Natural World. (2016, August 24). Retrieved November 22, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Descartes-and-Thomas-Hobbes-Natural-World/105832

"Descartes and Thomas Hobbes On The Natural World." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 24 Aug. 2016. Web. 22 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Descartes-and-Thomas-Hobbes-Natural-World/105832>

"Descartes and Thomas Hobbes On The Natural World." Essayworld.com. August 24, 2016. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Descartes-and-Thomas-Hobbes-Natural-World/105832.

JOIN NOW

Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays

PAPER DETAILS

Added: 8/24/2016 05:04:40 AM
Category: Philosophy
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 747
Pages: 3

Save |

Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS

Save and find your favorite essays easier