Rene Descartes Essay

How Did Rene Descartes Contribute To Psychology
"I think, therefore I am"
Rene Descartes was a man obsessed with finding things out for himself, an intellectual who
contributed to the field of psychology. Born in the 16th century, Descartes grew up in a society
where ideas, thoughts and perceptions were not questioned but were supposed to be understood and
supported. While growing up and through his studies, Descartes began to make strides in the fields
of philosophy, mathematics and science. Descartes was a man who challenged accepted ideas and
aided the field of psychology through his contributions to reflex theory, helping describe the mind
–body problem, and challenging accepted theological ideas. An automaton is a mechanical robot that
can be defined as a machine that moves...show more content...
(Watson 159). Just like shadowing or closing your eye when a bright light is flashed, humans
cannot always control the reflex of their eyes blinking. Another example of an uncontrollable
reflex for Descartes is when someone falls, they naturally try to brace and ultimately break their
fall. (Watson 162). A final example were Descartes adds to the reflexive theory also has to do
with eyes again. If a person knew that someone was going to take a punch at their face but
intentionally miss, that person would still flinch and their eyelids would still shut (Bolles 26).
Descartes did not create the reflex theory, but he added validity to the idea of involuntary actions of
the human body. This idea was important because many scientist and philosophers viewed all
actions voluntarily (Lowry 8). To take this idea another step further, they viewed the mind and body
as one completely separate and controlling of the other. They believed that the mind controlled all
movements of the body. Descartes viewed this as incorrect and did his own critical analysis of the
mind–body problem. An analogy that will help describe the mind–body problem is the relationship
between a puppet and a puppeteer. A puppet has control but that control is limited, while the
puppeteer actually controls most of the movements of the puppet. Descartes describes this idea
further in his book
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Essay about Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes was born on March 31, 1596 in La Haye Touraine, France. Descartes was
considered a "jack of all trades", making major contributions to the areas of anatomy, cognitive
science, optics, mathematics and philosophy. He has been referred to as the father of modern
rationalism, soldier of fortune, scholar, pilgrim, traveler, and a firm adherent of the Roman
Catholic faith. He was educated at the Jesuit college of La Fleche in Anjou. He entered the college
at the age of eight years, just a few months after the opening of the college in January, 1604. At La
Fleche, Descartes formed the habit of spending the morning in bed. His health was poor and he was
allowed to remain in bed until 11 o'clock in the morning. This habit and custom...show more
content...
It was at this point that he began to seek a unified science of nature. After two years in Holland he
joined the Bavarian army. It was during this time with the army that Descartes wandered through
Europe seeing parts of Hungary, Germany, Italy, and France. During his travels to Paris he made
contact with Mersenne. This was an important contact because it kept him in touch with the
scientific world for many years. In late 1628 he gave a speech in Paris in which he argued that
the sciences must be founded on certainty. He was encouraged by Cardinal Pierre de Berulle to
develop his own philosophical system. By 1628 Descartes tired of all the traveling and decided
to settle down. He gave much thought to choosing a country that suited his nature and decided on
Holland. He felt Holland would offer him seclusion and more intellectual freedom. Soon after he
settled in Holland Descartes began work on his first major treatise on physics, Le Monde, ou
Traite de la Lumiere. This work was near completion when he received the news that Galileo was
condemned to house arrest. He decided not to risk publication. His work, the world's first extended
essay on physiological psychology, was published after his death. While in Holland Descartes had a
number of scientific friends, they encouraged him to publish his ideas. Although he was adamant
about not publishing Le Monde, he did write and publish in 1637 a treatise on science under the

Essay on RenГ© Descartes
RenГ© Descartes
RenГ© Descartes was a French philosopher and also mathematician. His method of doubt led him
to the famous "cogito ergo sum" when translated means "I am thinking, therefore I exist". This
cogito was the foundation for Descartes' quest for certain knowledge. He explored doubt and how
we can prove our own existence, by taking the first steps of scepticism. His book "Meditations On
First Philosophy", was written in six parts. Each representing the six days that God took to create the
world. Not to upset the Church, Descartes would need to prove the existence of God, and the soul.
Within Descartes' argument, we find some important areas. Two, which require focus, are his...show
more content...
He came to the conclusion, that to doubt is to think; and to think is to exist. An example in Russell's
"Western philosophical thought" is that "anything, which doubts, understands, affirms, conceives,
wills, denies, imagines and feels is something, which is thinking. And feeling, when it occurs in
dreams, is thought". So therefore anything which thinks, also too exists.
In Descartes' wax example, he takes a piece of wax from the honeycomb in it's solid form. He
observes that there are certain things, which are apparent towards the senses. The taste of the
honey, its temperature (cold), the size, the colour, and when you tap it, it makes a sound. Yet, if
we place the wax near heat, or a fire, the features and qualities change. No longer is the shape the
same. It has become hot, and when you tap it there is no sound. This is the wax in its liquid form.
So is the wax we see now, the same wax we saw before these changes?
Before these changes were apparent, Descartes pointed out the difficulties of relying on the senses,
of the physical body. In section 31 of Meditation two, he says that the perception he has, "is a case
not of vision or touch or imagination – nor has it ever been, despite previous appearances – but of
purely mental scrutiny". Descartes shows that our senses cannot be used to have knowledge of
things in the external world, and that knowledge of these things must come through the mind alone.

Rene Descartes Essay
Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes was a math philosopher, he was born in Toures, on March 31
1596, and he died at Stockholm on February 11 1650. His father was forced to spend half the year
at Rennes, where he was a councilman. The rest of the time he spent with his family of Les
Cartes at La Haye. Rene was the second child out of four kids. At the age of eight, he was sent to
the Jesuit School at La Fleche. The school had very good education and discipline. On account of
his delicate health, he was permitted to lie in bed until late in the mornings. In 1647, he visited
Pascal, he told himself that the only way to do good work in math, and to keep his health was to
never allow anyone to make him get up in the morning before he felt...show more content...
The values of "x" and "y" determined the co–coordinates of a number of points which forms a curve,
of which the equation "f(x,y)=0" has a geometrical property.
Rene said that a point in a space could be determined by three co–coordinates. Rene pointed out the
very important facts that two or more curves can be referred to one and the same system of
co–coordinates, and that the points in which two curves intersect can be determined by finding the
roots common to their equations. Rene wrote three Geometric books. The first two are about
analytical geometry, and the third is an analysis of algebra that was current then. Rene also paid
particular attention to the theory of tangents to curves. Back then the current definition of a tangent
at a point was a straight line through the point such that between it and the curve no other straight
line could be drawn, that is the straight line of closet contact.
Rene described his theory by giving the general rule for drawing tangents and normals to a roulette.
The method that Rene used to find the tangent or normal at any point of a given curve was he
determined the center and radius of a circle, which should cut the curve in two consecutive points.
The tangent to the circle at that point will be the required tangent to the curve.
In modern text books it is

Rene Descartes Essay
Rene Descartes was a famous French mathematician, scientist and philosopher. He was arguably
the first major philosopher in the modern era to make a serious effort to defeat skepticism. His
views about knowledge and certainty, as well as his views about the relationship between mind and
body have been very influential over the last three centuries. Descartes was born at La Haye (now
called Descartes), and educated at the Jesuit College of La FlГЁche between 1606 and 1614.
Descartes later claimed that his education gave him little of substance and that only mathematics had
given him certain knowledge. In this lament he joins a chorus of seventeenth century philosophers
including Bacon, Hobbes and Locke. In 1618 he went to Holland to serve...show more content...
So, the search was on for the method used by the ancient mathematicians to make their
discoveries (the method of analysis). Descartes is clearly convinced that the discovery of the
proper method is the key to scientific advance. For a more extended and detailed discussion of
these methods, see John Cottingham , The Rationalists, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1982.
Chapter 2. In November 1628 Descartes was in Paris, where he made himself famous in a
confrontation with Chandoux. Chandoux claimed that science could only be based on
probablitiies. This view reflected the dominance in French intellectual circles of Renaissance
skepticism. This skptical view was rooted in the religious crisis in Europe resulting from the
Protestant Reformation and had been deepened by the publication of the works of Sextus Empiricus
and reflections on disagreements between classical authors. It was strengthend again by
considerations about the differences in culture between New World cultures and that of Europe, and
by the debates over the new Copernican system. All of this had been eloquently formulated by
Montaigne in his Apology for Raymond Sebond and developed by his followers. Descartes attacked
this view, claiming only that certainty could serve as a basis for knowledge, and that he himself had
a method for attaining such certainty. In the same year Descartes moved to Holland where he
remained with only brief interruptions until 1649. In Holland Descartes produced

Rene Descartes Analysis
RenГ© Descartes – Meditations on First Philosophy: The Certainty of Faith An atheist is unable to
have the same certainty as Descartes regarding the existence of material things because for all of his
knowledge Descartes relies on the pure light of reason, or "natural light", supported by God, that an
atheist can thus not rely on (152). All certainty comes through this natural light, and its veracity is
dependent on a real benevolent God. Descartes proves this God mainly through the use of the
ontological argument, but also offers checks against counterclaims that an atheist may have.
Descartes ultimately knows that material things exist because he can sense them (144). He proves
that corporeal reality's existence is distinct both from his...show more content...
Descartes relies on the natural light of reason for all his knowledge which cannot fail him since
God is the support of said reason through His benevolence. God's existence is proven since His idea
and actuality are necessarily indistinguishable from each other on account of His unity, and His
everlasting sustaining power of reality is evident due to his omnipotence. Having overcome the
obstacle of doubt with God, Descartes can have safe and secure certainty about the existence of
material things that an atheist

Essay about Biography f Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes was a brilliant man who was born on March 31st, 1596. He was born in a small
town in the South of France, named La Haye. Rene Descartes lived from 1596–1650. He was the
son of an intellectual councilor in Parliament, named Joachim Descartes. His mother, Jeanne
Brochard, died when he was only 1 years old. Rene Descartes was 8 years old when he attended
the Jesuit College of Henry VI in La Fleche. Rene studied science, grammar, mathematics and
literature which led him to become a famous Mathematician. He later left La Fleche in 1614 to
study civil and cannon law at Poitiers. In 1616, Rene Descartes received his Bachelor's Degree and
licensed degree in Law. In 1618, Descartes spent some time in the military where he was...show more
content...
The second meditation brings the primary truth in the "cogito, ergo sum" or "I think,therefore I am".
Descartes saw that the result is known only from the fact that it is "clearly and distinctly" perceived
by the mind. Descartes then unfolds the results of clear and distinct perception in meditations three
to six, and he repeats and extends these results in principles one and two. Descartes famously calls
the senses into doubt in the first meditation. He affirms in meditation six that the senses are not
meant to provide knowledge of the "essential nature" of external objects. In his position, the
meditations differ from that in the rules, in that he allowed that some "simple natures" with
important things can and should be considered through the images of the senses in the meditations.
He held that the purpose of matter could be used and assigned for ideas, independently of any
sensory image to that extent. His opinion allowed him to agree with the "platonic tradition" in
philosophy, which uses sensory knowledge and held things that the known by the intellect have a
higher reality than the object of the senses. Descartes' attitude toward the senses in his mature period
was not one of total loss. Descartes assigned two roles to the senses in the understanding of human
knowledge. First he attempted to prove that the senses are usually adequate for detecting benefits and

Rene Descartes Reflection
RenГ© Descartes, in his work of Meditation on First Philosophy, sets the establishment for present
day reasoning. Through the particular style of writing in first individual story, Descartes presents
radical disbelief, demonstrates the presence of God, recognizes the spirit from the body, and builds
up levels of assurance in knowing the material world. With the Meditations expecting to be a manual
for practicing scholarly understanding and practice, there is a solid association between the abstract
shape and philosophical substance, as one supplements the other. The utilization of contemplation
and story is particularly vital in conveying and accentuating Descartes' contentions on first rationality
since it offers an epistemological voyage...show more content...
For example, the perusers can without much of a stretch relate to occasions, for example, imagining
and inquiries, for example, the presence of God. With this, Descartes can go up against the test of
exhibiting how the procedure of self–change in considering and understanding unfurls through his
own encounters. He expresses, "I will above all else describe in the Meditations the very
considerations by methods for which I appear to have landed at a certain and apparent information of
reality" with the aim that "similar contentions that induced me can be helpful in convincing others"
(52). In this way, the perusers, when perusing the Meditations, will have the capacity to encounter a
comparative mental and epistemological trip in seeing first theory. The Meditation starts with the
presentation of the strategy for question in Meditation One. Acknowledging a large number of his
previous suppositions are deceptions, and how consequent sentiments are based upon them,
Descartes takes note of the need to question reality of everything, and "flatten everything to the
ground and started again from the first establishments, on the off chance that I needed to set up
anything firm and enduring in the sciences" (59). This design analogy of annihilating and setting up
fills to present Descartes' need in building a firm foundation for judicious

Certainty Of Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes Rene Descartes was a philosopher of the 17th century. He had this keen interest in
the search for certainty. For he was unimpressed with the way philosophy is during their time. He
mused that nothing certain was coming forth from all the philosophical ideologies. He had
considered that the case which philosophy was in was due to the fact that it was not grounded to
something certain. He was primarily concerned with intellectual certainty, meaning that something
that is certain through the intellect. Thus he was named a rationalist due to this the line of thought
that he pursued. But in his work in the meditation, his method of finding this certainty was skeptical
in nature; this is 'the methodic doubt'. Rene Descartes had attempted to find that something which is
certain to. Only to find that our senses are unreliable and our senses can be deceived. He did find
that something from which he is fairly certain about, which is the 'Cogito'. "Cogito ergo sum" which
is often translated as, "I think, therefore I am." This can be better translated as, "I am thinking,
therefore I exists." This world–renowned saying has been called as the 'First...show more content...
He had assumed this for in his search of finding that something which is certain, he had a "eureka"
moment of realization that the one thinking for the certain is that something which is the certain.
Cogito is the mind. So if we use our definition of certainty, "that something which is a hundred
percent not doubtful, and is upheld and assured with information that is acquired from this world,"
the 'cogito' is still fit to have that definition. We could say that it is a hundred percent not doubtful,
for if we doubt the self, it just strengthens the claim, that the self, is the one doubting. I believe Rene
had use the term, 'indubitable.' The 'cogito' is the indubitable

Rene Descartes Essay

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