CAS PH 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Algebraic Geometry, Cartesian Coordinate System, Thought Experiment
Document Summary
Epistemology: the study of knowledge and justified belief, branch of philosophy. Rene descartes: born 1596, died 1650, french mathematician and philosopher, creator of algebraic geometry and cartesian plane. Meditation 1: question everything, don"t doubt individual beliefs. Instead, doubt larger chunk ideas , such as math (addition, multiplication). I have thought while asleep that i was not dreaming, only to wake up. Vividness of colors, smells, pains, etc (in)coherence of events and times. As with the senses, don"t be certain that you are not dreaming now, if you have been fooled. Objects, or at least aspects of objects, are real bodily nature or extension, quantity, etc. Composite: facts depend on matter that exists in the world (ex: astronomy, medicine) Simple: facts known even without experience of objects in the world (ex: arithmetic and geometry) Could i be deceived when i think that 2 + 3 = 5. Maybe god does not want to deceive me after all.