Descartes: The Father of Modern Philosophy
“Modern Philosophy”
René Descartes = The Father of Modern Philosophy
Foundationalism
What is the foundation for knowledge?
Skepticism
What can we know for sure, with absolute certainty?
Methodical doubt
Rationalism
Knowledge comes from reason, not from the senses or from experience.
A priori knowledge vs. a posteriori knowledge:
Cogito Argument
Almost everything can be doubted (the senses, memory, even math!)
God might be an evil deceiver, endlessly tricking both our senses and our reason.
So what’s leftover that can’t be doubted at all?
Arguments for God’s Existence
Clear and distinct idea of an ens perfectissimum (“most perfect being”; i.e, God).
For a most perfect being, existence is part of its essence.
As a “most perfect being,” God is omnibenevolent (i.e., God cannot be a deceiver).
Therefore, anything that is known clearly and distinctly (with our reason) is true with certainty, escaping any skeptical doubt.
The Cartesian Circle
An objection to Descartes: His reasoning may be circular:
A PDF of this article is available here: Descartes: The Father of Modern Philosophy (PDF)
For Further Reading:
Meditations on First Philosophy by René Descartes
