Descartes' Method of Doubt

Paper Summary:

This paper explains how Descartes uses the presence of doubt to prove the existence of knowledge and then uses this method of doubt throughout the "Meditations" to bring his readers to various philosophical conclusions.

From the Paper:

""I think, therefore I am" (Descartes). That may be the most famous statement in all of philosophy. Beautiful in its simplicity, it is the most concise way of understanding Descartes' method of doubt. According to Descartes, whatever could be doubted was to be rejected (Burnham and Fieser). Therefore, the only things that could be trusted were those things that were clear beyond any doubt. The foundation of Descartes' philosophy was to trust only those things that could be so proven. Then, by removing all things that he could doubt, Descartes was left with the simple fact that he had doubt. That doubt, in and of itself, was sufficient to prove Descartes' existence, giving rise to the beautiful conclusion: "I think, therefore I am" "

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