Descartes Research Papers Samples For Students

Descartes

In his Meditation Descartes provides two arguments for the existence of God. One argument is a causal argument while the other one is an ontological argument for the existence of God. The ontological argument for the existence of God that he proposed in fifth Meditation is a straightforward one. Descartes claims that our idea of God is the idea of a perfect being. Perfection entails lack of nothing so, if something is perfect, then it must exist because something that does not exist cannot be perfect. But, God is perfect; therefore, he has to exist. The perfection of God demands that He ...

The Meditations usually reflected on as the foundation of the modern philosophy of the West. Descartes breaks down the Aristotelian opinion that the entire knowledge is achieved through the senses and that the state of the mind must bear a resemblance to what they are about. He builds up a completely perception of mind, substance and opinions. Descartes employs a lot of skepticism especially in the First Meditation. He starts by asking how he can be sure of anything. He then builds up all types of imaginative and strange reasons as to why he should doubt his senses. Since that time, Philosophy ...

What is Descartes’ “method of doubt”? How does this method lead to the “I think” as a starting point of philosophy?

Introduction:

The Descartes‘s method of doubt which a basic aim and strategy of defeating skepticism on their own ground. This method approaches each situation by doubting it first. The method involves doubting all aspects including the truths, cultural presumptions as well as evidences of the senses of the argument. The method also doubts the whole process of reasoning .This skeptical challenge aims at ensuring that those arguments that pass the test are the ones which bears a strong foundation of knowledge ...

Descartes has several meditations on what things in knows and how he does so. He has a feeling of doubt towards his foundational beliefs on what he thinks he knows and the truth about them. He says that through his experience he has come to know that the core source of knowledge is the senses. He however mistrusts his sense because he it has been a source of deception to him before, for example things have a different look when far away than when close. His conclusion is that existence can be attributed to senses. Descartes says that truth cannot be entrusted ...

The oppression of women in the society dates back to the seventeenth century in England. During that time, men perceived women as deficient in most ways especially in their intellectual ability. Mary Astell arose as one of the core defenders of the position as well as the rights of women in the society. She also challenged some of the theories developed by other philosophers.
Mary Astell was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 12 November 1666 (Broad 99). She was the first born to Mary Errington and Peter Astell. Her father was a member of the Hostmen Company. When she was ...

Rene Descartes was a famous French physicist, mathematician, philosopher and physiologist. He was the founder of modern European rationalism. Descartes was one of the most influential metaphysicians of modern times. The scientist was born on March 31, 1596 in France. Since the parents were nobles, the boy received a good education.
In 1637, René Descartes published his famous work, published in French, - "Discourse on the Method" ("The Geometry Of Rene Descartes | Mathematical Association Of America"). The scientist was the first who introduced the coefficients of equations, variables, and designated degrees. He has modified the symbols of Wyeth’s ...

The proof of Gods existence is not a cause and effect argument as it does not base its argument from natural world evidence. The ontological argument is stated in this way: God is a supreme being. Among of the features of greatness or perfection is presence. Hence, God exists. The fact that the thought of God has been conceived in humanity means that he must be existent (Descartes et al., 682). This ontological argument theory God’s presence was established by theologian and philosopher, Anselm in the twelfth-century. It is founded on Anselm’s announcement that God is a ...

The most appealing approach to the nature of the mind with regards to my perception is dualism because dualism encompasses the existence of both physical and mental realm in the attempt to explain the relationship between the body and the mind. Dualism normally connotes that state of two segments. With respect to the philosophy of mind, the idea of dualism in brought out such that in a given domain, there must be two essential categories of principles or things. The body and the mind in some sense are perceived to be profoundly different kinds of things. Dualism takes the ...

The scientific revolution of the 17th century is strongly associated with the name of a genius scholar Isaak Newton. His contribution to the world’s scientific thought can hardly be overestimated.
Born in 1642 on the Christmas night in Woolsthhorpe, which is situated in Lincolnshire, England, the child was destined to change the world and become the culminating figure in the revolution of scientific knowledge. A genius as he was, Isaak Newton left his legacy in every fundamental area of that time science: mathematics, mechanics, optics and astronomy.
Isaak stepped into this world in the farmer’s family ...

The mind and body problem has originated with Rene Descartes. The function of the mind is to think while the body occupies space. The mind as a thinking matter and the body is the extended matter, respectively. There are two ways between the two distinct types of matter; certainly, the mind affects the body through action and the body affects the mind through perception. In information philosophy, the mind is viewed as immaterial information in the brain, an information processor biologically. For example, the hardware is the brain and mind is the software. It implies that the mind is pure ...

“The Little Mermaid,” the 1989 animated film directed by Ron Clements and John Musker and released by Buena Vista Pictures, delves on the story of a mermaid who falls in love with a human being. This film is likewise a cartoon adaptation of the original version of the novel of the same title written by Hans Christian Andersen and first published in 1837. With regards to the Disney version, it is observable that the film incorporates several techniques that seem to diminish the innate animalistic nature of the aquatic creatures, such as the crabs, lobsters, octopus, the tropical fish, ...

INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Q1.

GIS has been given several meanings over the years in various disciplines and areas of study. Interestingly, all these definitions of GIS attest to the uniqueness of spatial data since geographic locale is an essential peculiarity of strategies, plans, policies, and activities. Below is a sum up definition: GIS can be defined as a computer-based methodology and technology used to collect, analyze, model, manage, and present geographical information or data for a vast dimension of applications (Tyler pg. 210)

Components of GIS

People- Individuals are by far the most fundamental part of a GIS. The procedures and task definitions that are ...

Episode 2: Utilitarianism

The utilitarianism theory is referred to as a normative theory because of its characteristics and positive advocacies in the society, for example, its championship for a utilitarian society that is free from control of the government and one that causes more happiness (West, 214). The proponents of the utilitarianism theory believe that human beings are rational and are able to judge between good ideas and bad ones. Human beings have their individual rights that should be respected and not be infringed at any cost. One of the human rights supported by utilitarianism and one that is deeply discussed in one of ...

Abstract

Conventional medicine or mainstream medicine, which is often called as allopathic medicine, is based on the Cartesian model of dualism that holds the view that the human body and the mind are two entities. On the contrary, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) views the human body and the mind as a single entity. Many mainstream therapies were once considered complementary until they were proven clinically effective through research. Currently, many mainstream practitioners are adopting CAM therapies to provide integrated or holistic care. The National Institutes of Health and National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NIH/NCCAM) have divided CAM therapies ...

Introduction

The Effects of Scientific Revolution on Religion has been a very critical topic in such fields as history, philosophy and other social sciences. The scientific revolution, arguably one of the most important developments in human history is a movement that substantially shook the foundations of religion (Wolfe & Wolfe, 2011). The primary purpose of this topic, is to narrow down the broad topic of the effects of scientific revolution in such a manner that such effects are viewed from the perspective of the medieval religious structures, and not from the eye of the entire humanity. I chose to discuss this topic because it ...

Introduction

Film and media in general continues to influence identity to the society as well as creating and changing the ideology within the society. The media is not only responsible for perpetuating ideology messages out to the public but it is interlinked with the ideological framework of the society. Through recurrent exposure, an individual can be influenced by the media in terms of their personal identity, values and beliefs. Such traits are later indisputably strengthened by the external factors such as friends, teachers, peers, family and other institutional factors in the society. However, in the contemporary society, media has a very ...

What Is Philosophy?

Philosophy needs one to think beyond the practical ends, as it questions and makes everything look problematic. To take1 philosophy, one has to think beyond the practical world.

Socratic wisdom

Plato (427-347) lived in Athens, under the reign of Pericles. He was Socrates’ follower and an advisor to emperors. Socrates (470-399 B.C) is considered the father of moral philosophy he lived in Athens under Pericles. He spent most of his life questioning and arguing with his contemporary’s questions of Justice, self-control, piety, virtues and friendship2.

In the book ‘The Apology’, Plato’s recounts of Socrates’ trial.3

John Locke (1632-1704) held that since God was a God of Truth, he would never require ...

1. Individual place in society according to Horse Boy

The Horse Boy is a documentary film with a crafted footage that depicts spontaneous social interaction that contributes to its appeal and image. The perception of a social anthropologist that studies autism makes a conscious decision to focus on the experiences of autistic people, Instead of people around them. Parents of autistic children desire attention for one to understand their experiences and perspectives. The Horse Boy is a crucial reminder of the obvious fact that every autistic adult has a history of being an autistic child. Parents play an influencing role to the children lives ...

During the early years of the 14th century, most of the western civilizations are active in spreading their Christian faith. They have travel half way across the globe in order to fulfill their religious duties as well as expand their political territories. Religion has been powerful during this time and anyone who opposes their beliefs is commonly punished (Henry 3). However, there are also some who are taking the odds against religion and looking up into the sky for answers about the cosmos and other realities of life. These people are the creators and initiators of the modern science ...

Abstract

The research deals with the problem of phobias, the types of this irrational behavior, the history of research as well as the key founders and co-researchers who contributed significantly to studying this psychotic disorder. It was also studied whether phobias have relationship with age and gender of those being prone to the disorder. The questions of reasons, symptoms and treatment were given a particular focus in the concluding part of the project. The question of whether phobias are acquired in the course of life or transmitted genetically was scrutinized based on the opinions of world’s finest psychology experts, professors ...

The fundamental theorem of algebra (FToA) is states that each non-constant single-variable polynomial with complex coefficients has at least one complex root. In fact, there are many equivalent formulations, such as this: every real polynomial can be represented as a product of real linear and real quadratic factors.
Early studies equations by al-Khwarizmi (from 800) are devoted only to positive real roots and have no relation to the FToA. Cardano was the first to realize that it is possible to work with the values ​​more general than real numbers (Geuvers, Wiedijk & Zwanenburg, 2002). This discovery was made in the ...

And the Netherlands

Through the centuries Amsterdam has played an important role in Dutch society. Because of its position in the province of North Holland, the city grew to become an important focal point for trade and politics. One of the most turbulent and influential episodes in the history of Amsterdam and of Holland for that matter, is the spread of Calvinism and the political and economic struggle that followed, which finally led to the supremacy of Amsterdam as financial and commercial hub during the 17th century. Protestant ideas took root very early in the Netherlands, after 1960, when religious wars broke ...

Evil is often confused with what we consider “deviant” behavior.Deviance is any behavior that does not fit within social norms (Ferris & Stein, 2011). Even if something is determined to be deviant in one culture it doesn’t mean that it is deviant in all cultures (Ferris & Stein, 2011).
Although there are many theories, labeling theory seems to be especially accurate in the understanding of deviancy and evil. Labeling theory works to combine different theoretical perspectives, like conflict theory and symbolic interactionism (Ferris & Stein, 2011). This theories goal is not to label one person as deviant or not, it ...