Abstract The paper assesses how the function of doubt in Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy" plays an important role in establishing a core foundation upon which the author constructs the superstructure of his philosophical system. The premise of the paper is that the function of radical doubt in Descartes' philosophy lies in how, through the device of the omnipotent Demon and his deceptions, it allows him to clear philosophical ground of opinions that may be in some respect flawed or illogical, and thereby construct an edifice of knowledge from first principles.
From the Paper "In Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy the exercise of doubting plays an important role in establishing a core foundation upon which Descartes constructs the superstructure of his philosophical system. This essay will argue the thesis that the function of radical doubt in Descartes' philosophy lies in how, through the device of the omnipotent Demon and his deceptions, it allows him to clear philosophical ground of opinions that may be in some respect flawed or illogical, and thereby construct a edifice of knowledge from first principles. In the opening of Meditation Descartes reveals that the utility of doubting lies in its capacity to remove from his thinking "false opinions" that may otherwise cloud or obscure his logical analysis."
Abstract "Shadow of a Doubt" was a box office success and remains an outstanding example of Alfred Hitchcock's ability to craft a mystery film into a something which was more than mere cinema; it was also a serious psychological study. In order to achieve this, Hitchcock had to alter the way in which the viewer expected to see films.
Abstract 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."
Abstract 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" "
Abstract The paper compares how the play "Doubt: A Parable" by John Patrick Shanley and the short story "On the Rainy River" by Tim O'Brien are built on the foundations of uncertainty and doubts. The paper also shows how the two works allow the reader to come to his own conclusions about what ultimately happens in these two works. The paper relates that these works teach that one needs to question what he knows and believes and to understand there will always be uncertainties in life.
From the Paper "The uncertainties at the end of this play are very clear. First, there is a real uncertainty that Father Flynn did anything at all, and that he was simply afraid of Sister Aloysius and her accusations, and chose to leave rather than to acknowledge them. Today, with so many scandals following priests in the Catholic Church that is not hard to believe, even though this story is set in 1964. However, there are more uncertainties than just Father Flynn's guilt by the end of the play. Should Sister Aloysius be so absolutely sure of her suspicions, even though she has absolutely no proof? Is she really so convinced of her suspicions that she felt it was all right to lie, she a woman of the cloth and a person the children of the school are supposed to look up to? How could anyone be so self-righteous and despicable, and how could she possibly be a nun?"
Abstract The paper examines Rene Descartes' theory of "Methodological Doubt" which focuses on the certainty of God and human and material existence, and shows how they are some of the most famous passages in philosophy today.
From the Paper "Descartes strived to create a complete philosophy that was free of any contradictions. He began by rejecting all previous doctrines and dogmas laid down by the earlier philosophers. He resolved to begin by doubting everything so that he could come up with a stable basis for his philosophy. The method he created and adopted was methodological doubt. This methodological doubt became known to many to be a pre-requisite of honest thought."
Abstract The author argues, through a close analysis of two scenes from the film, "Shadow of Doubt" by Alfred Hitchcock, that the work serves as an indictment of the middle class. The paper emphasizes the roles of money and family in the film and analyzes some of its technical aspects in order to support this argument.
From the Paper "But arguably, it is not only Uncle Charlie, but Little Charlie as well who serve as critical counterpoints to a middle-class, suburban America. Little Charlie comments to her father: "Money. How can you talk about money when I"m talking about souls?? In the opening sequence, Uncle Charlie's money spills over from the nightstand on to the floor, indicating that he is either careless or doesn?t care about money. As we see later in the film, in scenes such as those in the Santa Rosa bank, Uncle Charlie is ?not interested in money,? primarily, we assume, because he has so much of it. Uncle Charlie's disregard for money is in stark contrast to the middle-class concern with money, as embodied by the character of Joe Newton, the banker."
Abstract The paper explains that, in his first and second meditations, Descartes began to doubt everything from what he saw to what he touched, believing God was not a god at all but a demon whose sole purpose was to deceive him. The author points out that, in the beginning, Descartes says that just because a person originally sees something that looks familiar, it is automatically associated with another mental image he or she has stored away in your memory. The paper concludes that, at the end of the second meditation, Descartes is certain that physical objects are grasped by understanding alone, not senses or mental images.
From the Paper "He begins to focus on physical objects, saying that although they can be altered, they still remain the same original object. Using wax as an example, he places it in front of the fire. This leads the wax changing its smell of flowers from where it was gathered, taste, shape, and color, and it becomes difficult to touch due to its heat. Before it was placed by the fire, it was cold, hard, and easy to touch. Descartes is certain that it is the same piece of wax, for he observed the change. Although it is different in every aspect of his senses, it is still the same piece of wax."
Abstract This paper describes philosopher Renee Descartes method of thinking, doubting and questioning, which led him to the beliefs that he felt he would be a secure foundation representing absolute truth.
From the Paper "Descartes began by noticing that when his viewing conditions were poor, it was easy for his senses to misguide him (Harvard College, 2002). For example, if his conditions were subject to poor lighting or objects were too far away to see properly, his senses were dim.
That gave Descartes a reason to doubt many of his sensory beliefs, ones he developed when the viewing conditions are poor. However, it is not enough of a reason to doubt all of his sensory beliefs. Perhaps his other sensory beliefs are good and can be trusted, he observed."
Abstract The paper discusses Rene Descartes's three skeptical doubts and the importance of skepticism in his philosophy. The paper explains that the exercise of skepticism is the backbone of Descartes's philosophical approach and is the defining element of his meditations, insofar as they revolve around the identification and examination of three doubts: the doubt in his own existence, the reality of God, and the existence of the outside world. The importance and implications of these doubts are discussed in the paper in the hope of illustrating that, if we want to arrive at certain knowledge and objective truth, we should begin, as Descartes did, by doubting.
From the Paper "Descartes' third doubt is a natural extension of the first two and particularly interesting insofar as its conclusion is predetermined by the ones arrived at earlier. Quite simply stated, we know that we exist because we are thinking beings and ultimately, conclude that God exists because we have exercised our thinking abilities. However, the outside world is primarily communicated to us as an entity through multiple perceptions and perceptions, in themselves, cannot be accepted as certitudes insofar as they may be misled by the Evil Demon. Nevertheless, the proof for the existence of the external may ultimately emerge from our knowledge of it. Knowledge, insofar as it had earlier been defined by Descartes as indubitable and a product of good God, cannot, therefore be deceiving. Hence, the outside world exists."
Abstract This paper discusses doubt and impurity in Nathaniel Hawthorne's book
"Young Goodman Brown". It discusses the interpretations that exist for this story and how they relate to the main character's spiritual doubt and issues of faith. It also looks at the symbolic meanings behind the main character's wife and how they are most often used in support of the interpretations of the story regarding his faith and doubt.
Table of Contents:
Doubt and Impurity
Impurity and Faith
Unresolved Doubt and Evil
Conclusion
From the Paper "Young Goodman Brown has been interpreted to mean that the title character is attempting to retain his faith. The symbolic meanings behind his wife are most often used in support of this argument. Yet the newness of their marriage suggests that this interpretation might not be the best one."
"Instead, it might be that Goodman Brown is not tempted to give up his faith; rather, it might be that he is attempting to resolve his doubts and keep the faith that he does have, safe. Faith, through her symbolic name and ribbons, might represent the need for Goodman Brown to come of age. In the end, it is not Faith, his lack of faith, or the Devil that brings Goodman Brown to evil. His life is made miserable and his soul is lost through the simple presence of unresolved doubt."
Abstract This paper examines how Descartes' procedure towards the knowledge of the 'I' is extraordinary in that to discover the fundamental principles of philosophy, Descartes skillfully evoked a radical philosophical and scientific method of doubt, classically referred to as hyperbolic doubt. The paper contends that what is radical about Descartes' method of doubt is that it refuses to accept the knowledge and authority of previous philosophers as well as the obviousness of his reasons and senses. For Descartes, anything that could be doubted must be rejected.
From the Paper "Descartes fantastically opens his Meditations by stating his desire to have only true beliefs. In applying the method of hyperbolic doubt, Descartes is following rules set out by himself into exploration of mathematics and philosophy in Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Searching for Truth in the Sciences. Descartes started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions. Descartes' ultimate aims however are constructive. Unlike common sceptics who doubt purely for the sake of doubting, Descartes aims to reach certainty-to cast aside the "loose earth and sand so as to come upon solid rock" ( Discourse 3, 6:28,29). Descartes' philosophical method was also intended to be a method for science."
Abstract Rene Descartes' method of doubt provides a powerful tool for attempting to determine the fundamental nature of reality. The paper analyzes Meditations I and II, where Descartes uses the Method of Doubt in order to attempt to determine which beliefs and opinions are true. It shows that in order to do this, Descartes proposes a series of skeptical hypotheses, each aimed at determining if we can trust our specific faculties of sense, reason, and imagination. The paper concludes that Descartes method of doubt determines that all that we can truly know is cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am).
From the Paper "Descartes notes that examining each belief, and determining if it is true "would be truly an endless labor". As such, he argues that it is necessary to attempt to find a principle that can serve as the fundamental basis, or bedrock, for all his beliefs. Descartes argues that examining each individual belief is unnecessary, as well as laborious, given that an examination of his fundamental belief will reveal if all other beliefs, which rest upon it, are true as well. Says Descartes, "as the removal from below of the foundation necessarily involves the downfall of the whole edifice, I will at once approach the criticism of the principles on which all my former beliefs rested" Descartes, Meditations I)."
This paper is a metaphysical investigation of Keats's sonnet, "O Thou Whose Face Hath Felt the Winter's Wind," as related to the philosophical texts by Hegel and Emmanuel Levinas.
Abstract This paper explains that John Keats in his sonnet ,"O Thou Whose Face Hath Felt the Winter's Wind," has two ontological entities, the speaker or "I", and the addressed, or the "thou". The author points out that Hegel is reluctant to say what he says because he finds the language of the world of appearance to be necessarily reductive; but, in the Keats's poem, the addressed seems to be a more settled version of Hegel's blind man, or man with sight, as he or she has taken hold of the abundant wealth of the supersensible beyond. The paper concludes that Keats's sonnet affirms nothing but doubt, both doubt in the autonomous self and doubt in the existence of a beyond that is anything more than a projected human construct.
From the Paper "A common association with darkness is ignorance. Indeed, the phrase "in the dark" is often used when saying someone lacks knowing on an issue. Keats points to this assumption of darkness as ignorance when the speaker of the poem declares proudly and in defiance of common sense, "O fret not after knowledge! I have none." This non-knowing couched in darkness elsewhere could be an exclamation of ignorance, but here represents something different. It is a non-knowing knowledge of that which is outside the realm of conventional human understanding. The transcendent quality of knowledge in the poem is maintained by the binary of sense perception (seeing the trees, cloud tops) and abstractness (the light of darkness)."
Abstract This paper explains that the global skeptics argue against the theory that knowledge may be proved through the senses because sensorial perception differs from one individual to another to the extent that there is an element of doubt. The author points out that, looking in parallel at the skeptic and non-skeptic argumentation from a sensorial point of view, the non-skeptic argument is always much weaker because the skeptic can always use doubt and can always bring out the "what if" argument. The paper relates that people who believe in God do so because of their faith and of their belief in religious facts, not because God revealed himself to them or because his existence has been proven by physical variables, but because religious people believe he exists and he directs and determines events in their lives.
From the Paper "Quite close to the parallel I have presented previously, we have the criterion of truth. According to this, "any criterion used to judge the truth of a claim can be challenged because a further criterion is needed by which to judge the present criterion, and so on ad infinitum". This argument is based again on the doubt principle, but has also close ties with the religious argument brought about by St. Thomas Aquinas for the existence of God, known as the First Cause."
