PHIL 100 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Materialism, Cogito Ergo Sum, Cartesian Doubt
Document Summary
Wrote the meditations on first philosophy as a guidebook to truth and knowledge. Sought the catholic church"s approval of his philosophy. Galileo said that the earth was not the center of the universe, got. Father of modern philosophy excommunicated, and this scared descartes. Skepticism: the philosophical position that knowledge is impossible. Socrates" skeptical paradox: all i know is that i know nothing . All declarative statements are either true or false never both. All paradoxes refer back to themselves which causes the problem. Descartes aims in the meditations: defeat skepticism, attain perfect knowledge . Perfect knowledge: knowledge which is absolutely certain and indubitable. The method of universal doubt: descartes" method for systematically doubting all of his beliefs. How does the method of universal doubt enable descartes to achieve his. Beliefs doubt filter perfect knowledge. Descartes" method enables him to defeat skepticism by showing that some beliefs cannot be doubted.
