Rene Descartes, a great French Renaissance mathematician and philosopher suggested a process of logical inquiry to arrive at certainty in all knowledge. Descartes believed that one gains knowledge by using reason and skepticism. He believed in skeptical doubt and advocated suspicious consideration of all information to determine if it was true or untrue. The Cartesian Method is often used to refer to Descartes’ notion of knowing. His approach allowed one to learn about the outside world and finally arrive at certainty. Rene Descartes asserted that we might have specific knowledge inside ourselves and that knowledge originates from the fundamentals of cognition. He held that we could only learn new things if we had independent, creative, and logical thought capacities. This allowed for a high level of knowledge assurance.
To respond to the first question, “How can we know anything? Descartes argued that one might learn new things by carefully studying one’s mind. He believed that one might get information through their internal universe of ideas rather than from external ones like books. He believed that the logical mind alone could educate one on the reality of anything if it were magnified and employed appropriately. According to Descartes, the only way to know anything is through applying reasoning in one’s way. People can develop meaningful ideas of the truth through reasoned inquiry and contemplation. Additionally, he promoted skepticism and challenged the reality of everything. He held that real knowledge began from nothing and developed through reflection and learning facts until it attained the fullest possible comprehension.
Descartes argued that innate knowledge, such as the idea of God, existed inside each person and that one should use that knowledge to search for other truths to address the second question, “How can we know that we know?” This idea of innate knowledge was the cornerstone of Descartes’s philosophy because it allowed him to explain how one could be certain one knew something. Descartes held that when a claim has been supported by evidence, one may be certain they are correct. According to Descartes, everything that can be verified as true is something that can be known for sure. He argued that one’s conceptual underpinnings must be precise and flawless to construct an accurate knowledge model. As a result, to evaluate the validity of a concept or argument using this school of thinking, one must carefully examine it.
Descartes proposed that one could only say something with certainty if one could explain and prove it was using clear and distinct ideas. He believed that any truth that had been thoroughly examined, and shown to be consistent with God’s will, could be known and accepted as certain. Through his philosophy, Descartes concluded that truths like mathematics, sciences, and innate knowledge could be known. Descartes also thought that knowledge might be expressed in certainty and trust. He defined faith as placing one’s belief in a concept without necessarily knowing it to be true. In contrast, certainty is the position of knowledge supported by unambiguous proof. While faith is a belief that may not be supported by evidence and may be wrong, certainty allows one to feel certain that his knowledge is accurate and well-informed.
Descartes concluded that knowledge might be attained and is unassailable via reflective and reasoned thought. He held that one must examine all theories before coming to a firm conclusion. He also believed that while religion is founded on confidence in a concept or theory, certain knowledge may be learned via facts and rational reasoning. Descartes believed that knowledge was ultimately attainable but only sometimes certain.
Reference
Descartes, R. (1955). The philosophical works of Descartes. [2 vols.].
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