Doubt Doubted
In this paper this author intends to examine and critique Rene Descartes' method for discovering truth and his concept of clear and distinct ideas. Broadly speaking, most modern philosophers explicitly reject both Descartes' specific method and his general approach. However, while there are problems with his philosophy of discovering truth, there is an underlying intuition that is correct. From this brief discussion we will be able to see that Descartes' theory of clear and distinct ideas and accompanying method are indicative of a significant truth but are ultimately flawed.
In order to have a proper, well-informed discussion of Rene Descartes we must first look at the man himself. Descartes was born in La Haye, France in the year 1596 and lived until 1650 when he died of pneumonia. He is most commonly known as the father of modern philosophy, but he was first and foremost a mathematician. He traveled extensively as a mercenary in three different armies, and while doing so he used the vast amounts of free time to think. This thinking led Descartes to author many now famous philosophical works between the years 1628-49. Descartes' most well know works are his Meditations and from these the famous, ?Cogito Ergo Sum.'
The famous ?Cogito' came into existence through Descartes' method for finding truth. In this method Descartes determined to doubt everything except that which was clear and distinct. By clear and distinct he simply meant: to doubt anything and everything unless it could be proven to be true without even the slightest doubt. So by systematically doubting everything one could obtain certain truths, and through these clear and distinct ideas true knowledge could be obtained. This le ...