Descartes - Epistemology: Modern Western Philosophy (Philosophy)

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Introduction: Rene Descartes was a french philosopher, mathematician and a scientist.
He laid down the foundation of rationalism in western philosophy in the 17th century which was later advocated by Spinoza and Leibniz.
Rationalism is a philosophical theory that accepts that reason, instead of sense-experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge.
Rationalism is opposed by empiricism, according to which sense-experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge.
Some of the names of Descartes’ influential writings are;
Meditations on First Philosophy,
Principles of Philosophy,
Rules for the Direction of the Mind,
Discourse on Method,
Passions of the Soul
The Need for a Method: According to Descartes, if one begins to re-read early Western philosophers’ distinctions regarding the mind and body, it soon became evident that the distinctions are framed only on metaphysical assumptions without a logical premise.
For example, there are no logical, systematic connections between the philosophical concepts (such as, reason, knowledge, freedom, etc.) and the distinction between mind and body.
He understood that the philosophers who preceded him worked with traditions and metaphysical assumptions in finding what is true.
Hence he began his search to seek not what is true according to the tradition but what is true in itself.
In other words, Descartes was worried about the uncertain state of philosophy expounded by the philosophers who preceded him.
He argues that in philosophy, there is not a single proposition without dispute.
Hence, knowledge for him must attain a certitude equal to that of the demonstrations of Arithmetic and Geometry.
This according to him could only be achieved via using an appropriate method of inquiry.
So, Descartes attempted to understand the methods of mathematics which could be utilised for advancing knowledge.
He called his own inquiry as “universal mathematics” in rule iv of his work, Regulae.
Descartes avers, “such a science should contain the primary rudiments of human reason and its province ought to extend to the eliciting of true results in every subject.”

Introduction @0:06
Some of the Names of Descartes’ Influential Writings are @0:43
The Need for a Method @1:00
Conception of Method @2:41
The Importance of Doubt @3:44
Sense-Experience or Sense-Testimony can be doubted @4:08
Truths of Science can also be doubted @4:34
Questions @6:24

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[Itsmagicallyme]

I AM UTTERLY IMPRESSED, great coverage in a short time .keep it up! waiting for fir more videos, your channel is underrated.

[aparnam]

Mam plz give a class on spinoza and Leibniz and kant, Hegel, Hume