Descartes Meditations Is The Beginning Of Western Philosophy

Descartes Meditations is the beginning of Western Philosophy. His writings as still greatly referred to to this day, and he is most famous for his quote â€Å"cogito ergo sum† which translates to â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† Each of Descartes’ Meditations is followed by objections from other theologists and philosophers, and thereon followed by replies from Descartes. Some objections are made stronger than others, for example, Thomas Hobbes, and it could be doubted whether or not Descartes truly was able to successfully counter Hobbes’ objections. Hobbes wrote the third set of objections on all six of Descartes’ Meditations, and in some cases making multiple objections within one Meditation. Descartes’ first Meditation concerns those things that can be called into doubt. It is in this mediation that Descartes relays all of which he previously believed in his life that could be false. He, in turn, decides that it would be best if he forgo a ll of his beliefs that could be false and begin again by starting with more certain bases. Descartes discusses his belief that though the senses are what we base our most certain knowledge on, the senses can be deceptive; for example, we sense things in dreams just as we do when we are awake. Hobbes objects to this Meditation by saying if we leave out reason and only take into account our senses, then doubt is what follows; however, Plato had already come out with the idea of sensory deception as it applies to dreams, and so all Descartes isShow MoreRelatedDescartes and Hume: A Look at Skepticism and Finding Stability915 Words   |  4 PagesRenà © Descartes was a skeptic, and thus he believed that in order for something to be considered a true piece of knowledge, that â€Å"knowledge must have a certain stability,† (Cottingham 21). 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