Ideas of Descartes, Plato, and Hume Essay - 880 Words

Ideas of Descartes, Plato, and Hume The immediate starting-point of Platos philosophical speculation was the Socratic teaching. In his attempt to define the conditions of knowledge so as to refute sophistic skepticism, Socrates had taught that the only true knowledge is a knowledge by means of concepts. The concept, he said, represents all the reality of a thing. As used by Socrates, this was merely a principle of knowledge. Plato took it up as a principle of Being. â€Å"If the concept represents all the reality of things, the reality must be something in the ideal order, not necessarily in the things themselves, but rather above them, in a world by itself† (Chaput, C. p.2). For the concept,therefore, Plato substitutes the†¦show more content†¦This is the task of philosophy. â€Å"Philosophy, therefore, consists in the effort to rise from the knowledge of phenomena, or appearances, to the noumena, or realities† (Chaput, C. p. 4). Hume’s beliefs of philosophical ideas was that there is a considerable difference between the perception of the mind, when man feels the pain of excessive heat, or the pleasure of moderate warmth, but then anticipates that this is caused by his imagination. These ideas may seem to be the same as a person’s sense, but they can never reach the origin of thought. Hume strongly believes that when these senses fall upon us, we could say that we almost feel or see it. According to Hume, when we reflect our past sentiments and affections, our thought is a faithful mirror, and copies its objects truly. He now feels that we may divide all the perceptions of the mind into two classes or species, which are distinguished by their different degree of force. The less forcible and lively are commonly noted as Thoughts or Ideas. The other species want a name in the language, and others not to have any specific purpose in philosophy. â€Å"Therefore we can use a little freedom, and call them Impressions; employing that word in a sense somewhat different from the usual† (Hume, 316). Impressions are distinguished from Ideas, which are less lively perceptions, when we reflect on any of those sensations or movements above mentioned. At first sight, nothing may seemShow MoreRelatedKant vs Aristotle1314 Words   |  6 PagesEmpirical Way of Thinking Philosophical Inquiry Section ON22 Erich Grunder Jim Cook 3/2/2007 During the 17th and 18th century two philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, arose carving for themselves a trench in the philosophical world. We can see the biggest distinction between the two in their theories of how we know things exist. The traditions of Plato and Aristotle have been dubbed rationalism and empiricism respectively. Under these traditions many well known philosophers have formed their ownRead More Descartes And Hume Essay545 Words   |  3 Pagesgreat teachers such as Aristotle and Plato, and through skepticism the modern world began. The French philosopher, Renà © Descartes who implemented reason to find truth, as well as the British empiricist David Hume with his usage of analytic-synthetic distinction, most effectively utilized the practices of skepticism in the modern world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Renà © Descartes was the first philosopher to introduce the intellectual system known as â€Å"radical doubt.† According to Descartes, everything he had learned beforeRead MoreThe Philosophers Who Contrubuted to the Development of Behaviorism891 Words   |  4 PagesBCE), Plato (427-347 BCE), and Aristotle (385-322 BCE) are often spoken of together due to the unique relationship they shared. 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Kant proposes that justiceRead MorePlato And Aristotle s Views On Philosophy1107 Words   |  5 Pagestwo men have intertwined their way into the philosophers to follow. The two men were followers of Socrates; thus, technically, Socrates can take some of the credit. These two men are Plato and Aristotle. The Platonic and Aristotelian ideas of philosophy are contradicting but equally represented in their influence. Plato believed that to find truth, one must look to the metaphysical world beyond reality. He believed this because he thought the physical world was only a mirror of the rea l world. WhileRead MoreThe True Knowledge Of Knowledge2300 Words   |  10 Pagespossession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles.† Now we all know that philosophers define knowledge as justified true beliefs, as a working model. But because knowledge is so challenging to define and come to an agreement on, there have been certain philosophers that stand out over the course of history. Some which believe in true knowledge such as Plato, Rene Descartes, Pythagorean, and Kant. As well as the one which did not believe; Hume, the ideas of skepticism as well as realismRead MoreInnate Ideas Essay1444 Words   |  6 Pagesfind truth, Descartes used only his logic to identify his existence. He also proved that there is some type of knowledge that we are born with. â€Å"Some of our ideas seem to be â€Å"born with me,† some â€Å"invented† by me, whereas others â€Å"come from without† (Descartes, 2008, p. 211). Which means Descartes believed tha t we enter this world with some innate ideas that overtime helps us to develop understanding of our sense (invented by me) and through our experiences (comes from without). Descartes was a dualist;Read MorePhilosophy C100 Quiz 121572 Words   |  7 Pagesstatements about Plato and Aristotle are/were true?    | They were interested in practically every subject then known. |    | They spoke (and wrote) intelligently on philosophical topics. |    | One or the other (or both) formed the metaphysics for Christian theology up to the present day. | X   | All of the above. | 16.   According to the text, the first comprehensive theory of knowledge was developed by    | Aristotle. |    | the Sophists |    | the Cynics |   X | Plato | 17.    In PlatosRead MoreMax Hallmans Traversing Philosophical Boundaries3864 Words   |  16 PagesThere is No Personal Identity by David Hume illustrate the various opinions that have been expressed through history regarding how humans define themselves and how human beings as a whole group create and individuate identity. Other essays in the text which focus on conceptions of the self include Cicles by Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Nature of the Soul and Its Relation to the Body by Plato, and On the Real Distinction Between Mind and Body by Rene Descartes. In the former two essays, the authorsRead More300 - Rationalism vs Empiricism - Summary and History2194 Words   |  9 PagesRationalism vs. Empiricism – History and Summary What is reality really like? A current running through much of the philosophical thinking around the time of Socrates and Plato was that there is a difference between how the world appears and how it is. Our senses reveal one layer of reality but it is our minds that penetrate deeper. The world of appearances is a world in flux but underneath there must be a stable reality. For there is much that is unchanging. We recognise kinds of things – badgers