Write a brief response to this post 5.2 cg A statement by the seventeenth-centur
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Write a brief response to this post
5.2 cg
A statement by the seventeenth-century French philosopher René Descartes - “I think; therefore I am” was the end of the search Descartes conducted for a statement that could not be doubted. He found that he could not doubt that he himself existed, as he was the one doing the doubting in the first place. In Latin (the language in which Descartes wrote), the phrase is “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think therefore I am, n.d.). This expression from Rene Descartes can relate to rationalism and can also be applied to the first principles as justification for logic is sought out.
In Locke's philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that at birth the (human) mind is a "blank slate" without rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one's sensory experiences (Tabula Rasa, 2018). For Locke I can also see the first principles applied as when one is born we learn by experience and what we are taught upon, therefore helping to build the next layers throughout life. I grew up hearing these words not only in school, but also among family members. It is interesting now to see it's roots and the true meaning of it.
Explanation / Answer
Descartes and Locke concerned themselves with understanding the source of knowledge; that is, how and where is it do we acquire knowledge? Furthermore, the philosophers also tried to determine the extent of human knowledge; that is, how much do we, or can we, know? How can we use our reason, our senses, the testimony of others, and other resources to acquire knowledge? Are there limits to what we can know? The ideas of Descartes and Locke represent Rationalism and Empiricism, respectively, two differing schools of thought in epistemology,
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