Cartesian Doubt

Term Paper # 97112

Philosophy > History
Philosophy > Metaphysics
Philosophy > Science

Cartesian Doubt

An analysis of the historical background to Cartesian doubt and an examination of the argument's flaws.

2,311 words () | 6 sources | MLA | 2003 Bangladesh

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the argument and describes the historical background to Cartesian doubt. It describes Descartes proposal of a method of doubt that, logically carried through, led to absolute certainty in empirical knowledge. It then describes the influence that his claims had on the educated community. The paper goes on to explain how Cartesian doubt was a flawed argument from the beginning and how its faults began to appear.

From the Paper:

"In the year 1637, through his publication of Le Discours de la Methode (Discourse on Method), Descartes was supposed to have refuted at last the age-old problem of empirical scepticism. At the time of its publication the argument was a resounding success, and seemed to have removed the key obstacle that lay in the way of the progress of science. Fortified by a philosophy of empirical certitude, the enthusiasm for experimentation and science gained a staggering boost, and a direct consequence was the Age of Enlightenment. Only after the demise of the Enlightenment did the flaws in Descartes' argument begin to appear prominent. But by this time the determinist agenda had succeeded and the scientific method had established itself as the backbone to European civilisation."

Sample of Sources Used:

Bacon, Francis. The Advancement of Learning. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 1997.
Bacon, Francis. The New Organon. Lisa Jardine, Michael Silverthorne (Eds.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Descartes, Rene. Discourse on Method. Trans. Donald Cress. Boston: Hackett Publishing Co., 1999.
Descartes, Rene. Oeuvres de Descartes, Vol. 7. Charles Adam, Paul Tannery (eds.) Paris: J. Vrin, 1904.
Sanches, Francisco. That Nothing Is Known. Elaine Limbrick, Douglas F. S. Thomson (Eds.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.