Papers on "Descartes and Dreams" and similar term paper topics
Paper #102177 ::
Descartes and Dreams
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A discussion of Descartes' position on the dream debate.
Written in 2008; 2,170 words; 3 sources; APA;
$ 67.95
Paper Summary:
This paper examines Descartes' exploration of the nature of the relationship between the dream world and the physical world which we collectively regard as 'real'. The paper points out that his contributions to philosophical discourse were often informed by the thinker's experiences while he slept and that these experiences prompted him to a systematic approach to establishing an understanding of that which is rationally true, while rejecting all notions merely assumed to be true. By casting doubt and applying testing methods to assumed facts, Descartes sought to provide a living framework entirely governed by empiricism. Such a doctrine inclined Descartes to conclude that man could not accept himself to be capable of distinguishing between his experiences as he dreams and those which he has while awake. However, the paper concludes that, upon more speculative investigation, it is evident that Descartes' arguments are damaged by empirical scrutiny regarding the consistent distinctions between dream and waking experiences. Though the doubt which he casts on our assumptions of reality is informative to the pursuit of truth, Descartes ultimately fails to remove from the waking life its purpose or relevance as a real forum for inheriting the experiences which accompany us while we dream.
From the Paper:
"This brings to bear two important points in Descartes' argument over dreams. It is first crucial to note that he characterizes the objects and devices which appear in his dreams as fabrications of his mind. This differs from a conventional perspective that these dream apparitions are integrated into the dream by the mind but are truly only reflections of the mind's endeavors in the corporeal. A second and consequent point which Descartes enters into the discourse is that the prospect of the mind behaving in such a fabricating manner during dream-states is proof that it is subject to such behavior during the waking state as well. All that we perceive while in this state, presumptively imagined to be the 'real' forum for the fulfillment of our lives, is channeled through the mind. It is therein that a human creates forms, applies meanings to them and offers the body commands for interacting with these forms. These processes, Descartes evaluates, are all internal and, with the invocation of empirical limitation, must be seen as made feasible only by the dimensional perceptiveness of the human mind."
Tags:
epistemology skeptisicm meditation consciousness conscious real world
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