Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Cogito ergo sum - Rene
Descartes (1596 - 1650)
- What do you know about yourself?
- Do you even exist? How do you know?
- If you can't be sure of this how can you be
sure of anything?
- But we know when we are
not dreaming, we can check
things
- Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
- If all you did was watch and listen to others
you could never have your own ideas
- Completely possible to leave
school as an accomplished parrot
- Everything he did is described as cartesian
- He studdied: maths, physics, biology, psycology
- Tried to answer the question "How do we know things?"
- To completely focus on his work he isolated himself and worked alone in Holland
- Had to overcome both people and the church to answer the question
- Francis Bacon (English) said "Nothing can be
known" not through the church or through science
- All information gained through the senses is
interpreted by your brain - therefore it's not reliable
- Is there anything that we are certain of?
Surely maths is the same even in a dream
- Is maths the foundation of knowledge?
- No, there is still room to be deceived. Descartes
concluded there was nothing he was certain of
- Realised even if the thoughts were wrong he was
definitely having them. lead him to say "I think therefore
I am"
- He finds in his mind ideas of
perfection, infinity and justice
although he's never experienced it
- Then how can her experience these perfect images?
- God has left a signature of his nature on everyone's mind
- He was certain of this as proof God exists
- God must therefore be the foundation of knowledge
- God wouldn't want us to be deceived as
he cares for our intellectual welfare
- Therefore as we are sure God exists
we know other things must be true