Descartes vs Locke Essay Example for Free

Descartes vs Locke EssaySocrates once said, As for me, all I know is that I know no thing. Several philosophers contradicted Socrates outlook and believed that veritable knowledge was in fact attainable. This epistemic view however had several stances to it, as philosophers held different beliefs in regards to the derivation of true knowledge. Rationalists believed that the judgement was the witness of true knowledge, while in Empiricism, true knowledge derived from the senses. Rene Descartes, a rationalist, and John Locke, an empiricist, were prime examples of epistemologists who were seen to differentiate greatly within each of their philosophies. However, although Descartes and Lockes ideas did contrast in that sense, they some(prenominal) shargond common concepts that helped mould the foot of their ideas. Descartes and Locke both agreed that there were things in life that exist that we usher out be certain of. For Descartes, human race experiences did not provide suff icient proof of being. He indicated that through his Dream Conjecture and his Evil-Demon Theory (Paquette 205). Descartes say that we cannot be certain if reality is a dream or not, thus questioning our existence (Paquette 205).In his Evil-Demon Theory, Descartes claimed that for all he knew, an evil demon could be putting thoughts into his head, making him think that reality was true when it was in fact false (Paquette 205). Ultimately, all this mentation resulted in Descartes coming to the conclusion that the one thing we could be sure of existing is the head (Newman 2010). This can be seen through his most famous quote, I think therefore I am (Kaplan 2008). Descartes claimed that since he was able to doubt and think using his intellectual, his mind must exist (Paquette 205). Similarly, Locke was overly sure of existence.He believed that every target area was made up of chief(a) qualities as well as secondary qualities (Paquette 212). Secondary qualities rely on how a per son senses the object subjectively, and is experienced differently depending on the individual (Paquette 212). Examples of secondary qualities include colour, taste, and sound (Paquette 212). Primary qualities, however, are fair game and include aspects such as an objects height and weight (Paquette 212). Through this, Locke claimed that the existence of objects can be made certain due to the primary qualities it possesses (Paquette 212).Similar to Descartes, Locke believed in a sense of existence. However, in his view, the facts from the primary qualities proved the object exists because the object exists within itself (Paquette 212). Descartes and Locke also believed in some sense of the outdoor(a) domain of a function. Descartes claimed that there is in fact an away world, however it does not exist outside peoples minds (Paquette 206). Since Descartes was a rationalist, he believed that the only method to acquire true knowledge was solely through the mind (Moore 2002). Throug h the process of doubting existence, Descartes realized that the mind exists (Paquette 205).He went further into thought and concluded that since he, an feeble person, has knowledge of perfection, something perfect has to exist to have put that knowledge in his mind. From there he claimed the existence of God (Newman 2010). Descartes indeed(prenominal) stated that a perfect god would not deceive his people, indicating that the sensible world exists (Newman 2010). Therefore through this thinking process, Descartes came to the conclusion that the real world is of the mind, and the external world is everything else that falls into the material world made by god (Newman 2010). Like Descartes, Locke also believed in an external world.As an empiricist, Locke relied hard on the senses to provide true knowledge (Moore 2002). He shared Aristotles belief that the mind is a blank slate, also known as tabula rasa, at birth (Paquette 211). Our sense experiences thereafter provide us with kn owledge to fill in those slates (Paquette 211). In Lockes Representative Theory of Perception, also known as Epistemological Dualism, he stated that material objects exist and are separate entities from human beings (Paquette 227). However, he also believed that objects exist in the mind as psychological entities (Paquette 227).Locke concluded that people can taste, smell, touch, and see the external world which, in turn, becomes impressions in our minds (Paquette 227). Descartes and Locke are thus seen to be similar in the sense that they both believed in an external world. Descartes and Locke both had a process for understanding knowledge as well. As a rationalist, Descartes believed in innate ideas that all humans were born with some knowledge (Paquette 206). This differentiates from the empirical view that the mind is a blank slate at birth (Paquette 211).Descartes also used intuition and deduction to micturate truth (Kaplan 2008). He believed that intuition is direct knowledge which can be known without ever comprehend or experiencing it (Paquette 206). Deduction however, is where you start with a premise, or a statement you believe to be true, and then determine more truths based on that origin (Paquette 206). As shown, Descartes focused on the thinker and the thinking process when determining true knowledge (Paquette 206). Rather than a thinking process, Locke believed that understanding knowledge came from a process based on our senses (Paquette 211).He believed that when the external world triggers any of our five senses, those experiences turn into sensations (Paquette 211). Those sensations then turn into impressions in our mind, thus adding knowledge onto the slate in our mind which was once blank (Paquette 211). He claimed that our mind reflects on the impressions we received from our sensations (Paquette 211). Locke then stated that those reflections turn into an idea which can be each simple, or made up of a bundle of simple ideas called comp lex ideas (Paquette 211).Like Descartes, Locke is seen to use a process for finding knowledge as well. There are many a(prenominal) aspects to Rene Descartes and John Lockes philosophies that are clearly distinct from one another. However, it is essentially incorrect to claim that rationalist Descartes and empiricist Locke bear no similarities. The ii epistemologists are seen to share a similar base within each of their philosophical ideas. Through the many differences between Descartes and Locke, their basic concepts of existence, the external world, and the process for obtaining knowledge are quite similar to each other.This radio link illustrates that although the ideologies people possess on life vary to a great extent, there can eternally be some sense of a common ground that brings us all together. Works Cited Kaplan, R. ism In our time. BBC Homepage. BBC News. , 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. http//www. bbc. co. uk/radio4/history/ Moore, B. Philosophy Glossary. Online Learn ing Centre. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2002. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. http//highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/076742011x/student_view0/chapter6/glossary. html. . Newman, L. Descartes epistemology.