Descartes: Discourse on Method,(Part I-IV)
Text available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59/59-h/59-h.htm
Journals due on October 28.
Questions for reading guidance:
What’s Descartes’ criterion for truth and knowledge?
What’s Descartes’ method to get such knowledge?
Do you think his method can guarantee the truth?
Truth and knowledge are two very important concepts. In order to get some knowledge, we suppose to study, it depends on what kind of knowledge we want though. To get some knowledge, Descartes goes to school, but later on it seems that he did not learn anything. However, study is the method he uses to get some knowledge. Basically, he tries to get it by traveling and studying, which I think that is a very good method. The reason why I believe this is because we have to learn by different ways to get the knowledge we may need. I think that Descartes can guarantee truth with his method because when we wan to prove something we have to have some knowledge about it in order to make it a truth, and that was Descartes did.
ReplyDeleteit seem that Descartes apppling a secntifc method way of coming to the truth and knowledge buy observation.he mention using our senses because we are all reasoning beings just look at things differently . he also prove that GOD is for real .
ReplyDeletewhat i get from Descates is that we most follow what we learn form A-Z but think for our selves and come to our own conclusions and not be mindless drons.
Descartes talks about knowledge (variety of ways of getting it) and truth (by observation). He mentions how he personally acquired both of these things by studying and learning from his travels. Some require schooling to learn certain things while its innate in some of us that we can grasp knowledge and understanding through a variety of circumstances that dont require the daily ritual of attending class. However we choose to learn and become knowledgeable we must use our reason to decide for ourselves how we interpret the information and not just take others at word
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the text "Discourse of Method" by Descartes, i came to the conclusion that he believed that we cannot seek the truth and knowledge from the outside world, due to the fact that all individual have the quality of good sense, but cannot always apply it. Then again having a doubtful mind can only lead to uncertainty. Therefore, studying oneself will make sense of the truth by slowly analyzing it.
ReplyDeleteDescartes believed the method that could be considered to gain such knowledge was to, not accept anything as the truth that is not evident, simple analysis will solve great problems, start with a simple object and progress slowly, increasing the process of a difficult object of study and review the progress made to ensure nothing was left out.
In my opinion, these methods can somewhat help one acquire knowledge and truth to an extent, by analysis. Eliminating the external world cannot help one understand the truth. He spoke about two kinds of people, one which he stated was " those who are modest enough to think that they are more capable of finding out the truth if they follow a teacher" and he fell in that bracket. I think this statement is contradictory because, in the begining of the text spoke about finding the truth solely depends on studying himself, his perception and the perfection of God. How can you attain the truth without some external factors to evalutate?
Descartes's most significant things he gave to the scientific revolution is his knowledge of sensory experience, imagination.Studying and travel are his main sources of knowledge he explains.His method can't guarantee the truth because everyone's experiences are different.For him that's the way he gets his knowledge but not everyone wants to travel and not everyone goes to school. He expresses that all scientific knowledge is based on certainty which is true because anything biological is innate. Descrates expresses that it's an individual agreement to what knowledge is, he gives an example of god and his laws, individual knowledge.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that knowledge and truth are some of the things Descartes values most. It was through these how Descartes came about to be the man he was. When he found school puzzling he left school but still read a variation of books to gain knowledge and truth from life. Descartes believes to resolve the imperfections in something that you should tear it all down and start from scratch. He states that on an individual level its not so far fetch to do. I think that for most of the times (following the rules he made) that you can understand the truth better but to guarantee it would depend on the individual and his perceptions. I think when you follow this method you would not be trapped on a certain route that another perceived that he could have missed a point or could just be wrong.
ReplyDeleteKevin Granados
ReplyDeletePHI 100-141
Descartes talks about truth and knowledge, he explains that to acquire truth lays in the eyes of the beholder. This is his explanation because the truth to one person is not necessarily the truth to another. The fact that we have natural senses gives us the ability to perceive the outside world, therefore gaining knowledge through our daily experiences. It is from these experiences that we acquire truths about our lives. In life we go to school to gain basic knowledge but when outside of school we are gaining knowledge through experiences of living life. As we get older our knowledge expands and we use that foundation to create truth of our experiences.
Descartes view of knowledge is quite interesting. He believes all people have the equal ability to reason. No one as a better ability or is more capable of reasoning then the other. What divides us and allows some to succeed over others is our method. Our method of reasoning is much more important then reasoning itself. Descartes sought his methods of reason and knowledge through studying and school. Studying does not simply give you knowledge it is a method which can either be used properly or not. His view of knowledge I believe is mostly related to just being alive. Using our senses, experiences, and the world around us as tools to create methods in applying our knowledge appropriately and seeking truth in the world.
ReplyDeleteI think what this test is talking is that according to Descartes truth and knowledge are found based on your life experiences. For Descartes he has been told that he would find knwoledge and certainy in his schooling. But in his school he didnt find any knowledge so he decided to travel around the world and to learn about different people and customs. I think the method he use to get his knowlege was following the guidance of his reason alone " as an individual" however he doesnt want people to imitated him. I dont personally think his method will guarantee the truth because in a group of people we can also find truth.
ReplyDeleteMany people have different was of learning. for example some people learn if they just har something and some people learn just by looking at the text and some learn just by absorbing the information. The truth is hard to find on your own so you really need more then one source of information. Growing up i learned just by what my teacher told me but as i got older i found out that some of what they say is false and i fount out because i did myu own study. To me learning is fine but you have to be smart on where you get your information from. One source is not the best solution to find the truth i believe the truth will come so as loog as you really look for it.
ReplyDeleteafter reading the text; i think that knowledge can be a person's good sense or reason. I think the author is stating that knowledge is something everyone can attain regardless of class. the author also speaks on the "diversity of opinions". according to the author the root of this is from the different ways people view life. does this mean that a persons knowledge is measured by how they view life? The author also states that true reason or sense isn't necessarily found in books or class rooms. The author says that a sure way(in his judgment)to get this knowledge is by traveling and engaging with people all over the world. There is -according- a "world school". And by learning by way of our own experiences we can draw our own conclusion about how to conduct our lives. That is what I think knowledge and the criterion for knowledge is, based on the reading.
ReplyDeleteChih Hao Hsu
ReplyDelete"I'm thinking, therefore i exist"
The above statement is Descartes conclusion to his own existence. For Descartes, this conclusion did not came from reasoning, instead, it came for the fact that he can't doubt it. From this statement and the other things that Descartes talked about in "Discourse to Method", truth and knowledge is not something that could be obtain with reasoning, instead only when truth and knowledge couldn't be doubt or question, only then would he accept these conclusions.
In reading "Method of Discourse" i found Descartes journey was none the less a inspirational one. With all the knowledge he had obtain, he realized that it wasn't enough. Only with the interconnection with people and outside environment, would he then be able to verify his knowledge of the world.
Take a simple example of eating. With every culture, come with a different eating method, principle, and belief. So if someone were to never come in contact with other cultures, he/she are then going to think that there is no other ways of eating then his/her own way.
After reading Descartes, "Discourse of Method" I had a better understanding of how to come about acquiring knowledge and how to get the truth. In my comprehension of the story, there are a variety of ways to acquire knowledge. Of the many ways to acquire knowledge there a certain understanding that comes with it, and that brings the observation. In my honest opinion, I do not think that his methods brings truth for one reason and one reason only. The reason why i do not think his method brings you to truth because going back to republic as an example with the Shepherd who found the ring, if he was to be caught, eventually he will tell a lie. Also, under many circumstances, one person can lie thoroughly, without ever being caught. If you were to examine those few who do tell the truth, many of them have lied in the past. I think finding the truth only means to find what you as your own person finds to be true to yourself, not to any other person or persons. Knowledge can be acquired in many different ways. For my very own knowledge, I've went to school, I learned from the elderly, and I went through my very own experiences. Not everyone will have the same experience of knowledge, however, many people can agree that gaining knowledge happens on a daily bases, whether you intended to gain knowledge or your walking down a street. People were born with the habit t always identify things and try to gain knowledge about it. That is why gaining knowledge is always easy to acquire.
ReplyDeleteDescartes critierion for truth and knowledge is that one should find and gain it from themself. After years of schooling he felt as though he didn't learn anything. His method to obtain knowledge was to travel the world and interpret his observtions. But in order for him to get the truth from a thought he must study himself to make sense of his ideas and slowly analyze it. I do not really think his method can guarantee the truth. Many people think differently, mainly based on their upbringing. Therefore, one's attitude will always differ on how one may see it. You can try to be unbias, but there is always going to be something from the outside world or your teachings that you will use to evaluate your truth.
ReplyDeletedescartes search for truth and knowledge has lead him to multiple understandings about the world, why is hes there and the outside world. the truth on many levels can have many different answers from many sources. historians looks back into history and gather informations from journals and historic places. the reason why i think descartes method wont be beneficial is because truth and knowledge changes as we grow older we find new meanings of the world and ourselves.
ReplyDeleteDescartes thinking is based on opinion and reasoning. He studied many different fields of knowlsdge and carefully examining things that he learned and learning difficult material, breaking it down step by step and making sure he did not miss anything. Similar rules apply today in Science and other subjects. He used information from for example Algebra to solve problems in geometry and vice versa. If you think about it this happens in real life, we try to fill the void or problems with other things, when something is missing in our lives we try to cover it up with meaningless objects and actions that are sometimes harmful to ourselves. Descartes also decided to deal with certain principles of philosophy later on in his life, because he was true to himself and he was not igronarant, he knew that he might not be able to understand certain things because he was young. Being happy does not mean of dreaming things you can't have, when you aim for something you are capable of attaining, and not something of the extreme you will reach your destination, and more perhaps. Being content with someone elses opinion should not satisfy someone unless they are ignorant, it is true, you must learn and find things out on your own, rather than listening to someone else, because they can be wrong, and you will never know it. Onece there is a base to one's opinions thought out by careful reasoning, studying and observing, there is more room for error, and to understand certain errors and find solutions to them, maybe one should get rid of all views and opinions and some knowledge and start all over again. In other words maybe in life when there is something wrong, maybe we can knock it down like a building and re build it all over again with new ideas, better ones, because we already know what went wrong the first time, kind of like a variable in an experiment that ruined the whole experiment, perhaps the second time around a different variable can be used, like the trial and error process. It is like reaching wisdom, maybe it cannot be achieved the first time around, perhaps that is why Descrtes waited until he was older to study certain principles of philosophy. Perhaps all information is based on doubt, doubting what exists, doubting the truth.
ReplyDeleteDescartes used his experience and observations as a criterion to gain knowledge. He did years of schooling and felt like he didnt learn anything because he was getting information from a limited source for example a certain author or certain professor. He tried building his knowledge by taking a analytic method breaking down a task and ensuring every part is clear to him. He says that others sayings or teachings are unreliable so he tries to learn everything on his own but realises even his senses and reason is unreliable. So for him to gain knowledge he experiments and uses science.
ReplyDeleteIn Descartes discourse on method, he says knowledge is something that is universal and real and needs to be clear. Knowledge is something that we are able to define as a modern universal science. He describes the natural scientific knowledge as the real knowledge because science is physical and practical knowledge. He also says to get knowledge we have to build our own inner knowledge. We have to focus on the science within ourself. We cannot achieve clear knowledge by the saying and reasoning of a lot of people. It just brings more confusion and obstacle. Therefore in order to gain clear knowledge and truth he uses analytic method because he believes if we conduct an individual task we can be clear because we can think consistently until everything is clear. This method is pretty much helpful to find the true knowledge.
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