Rationalism 2

Rationalism 2

Using a priori intuition and demonstration to establish claims of what exists
1. Hume claimed that all matters of fact (including claims about what exists) must be grounded on experience and use of inductive reasoning
  1. Rationalists say - some claims about what exists can be grounded instead on a priori intuition and demonstration
    1. Demonstration - deduction
    2. a priori intuition - can 'see' the truth of a claim just by thinking about it
2. Descartes
  1. can establish the existence of the mind, the physical world and God through a prioir reasoning
    1. Cogito - the mind
      1. 'i think therefore i am' - so because i think i know i exist. may not have a body though ( a priori reasoning)
    2. The physical world and God
      1. what causes experience? God, physical objects or an evil demon?
        if God - would be deceiving us. If evil demon - god is as good as deceiving us.
        But God is perfect and would not deceive - if god exists physical world exists
  2. say were plugged into super computer from the matrix - sense experience not good for telling what exists
  3. criticisms
    1. Cannot know you exist, only know that you think - therefore are thinking
    2. thinks mind can exist without body - just because can conceive of possibility does not show that it is possible
    3. Hume claims only 2 types of knowledge - reason can only demonstrate analytic truths; no such thing as intuition
  4. Wax example - extension in space and infinity idea
Certainty is confined to introspection and the tautological
1. Descartes said knowledge is what' is completely certain and indubitable'
  1. certainty and justification are different, need argument to show that it is certain
2. what is certainty?
  1. 1) could be subjective, psychological meaning e.g. i feel certain that..". feeling of conviction
  2. 2) could be logical meaning e.g. truth of proposition can be certain because logically true proposition
  3. 3) Something that cant be doubted
  4. 1) too subjective 2) cannot doubt most because must be true, 3) relevant
3. Necessary and contingent
  1. proposition contingent if it could be true or false
  2. proposition necessary if MUST be true e.g. maths or analytic truths
4. tautology: saying something twice in different words e.g. analytic proposition. what is tautological is certin. analytic truths are necessary;certain
5. introspection: beliefs on ones mental states and processes - known to be certain and cant doubt
  1. contingent e.g. cannot doubt i seem to be seeing a table - but still certain (certainty def. no. 3)
6. Descartes thought necessity and certainty confined to a priori propositions.
  1. What about necessity of causal chain?
    1. Hume said an illusion! Habituated experience
    2. E.g. flame melting ice

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