Essay --

Rachel ReedPHIL 389Saint-Croix10 February 2014Question 7 Descartes FoundationalismIn this paper I will describe the bunsalist structure of Descartes arguments in his make water Meditations on beginning(a) Philosophy. Foundationalism is the view that there be some beliefs atomic number 18 epistemologically basic and plunder be known without knowing anything else is true (Loeb, point out 1-14). For example, philosophers such as Descartes would acknowledge that geometric truths, such as 2 + 2 = 4, are so fundamental that they dont accept to be proven finished argumentation. Thus, these truths can provide the basic foundation for further arguments. In my paper, I will show that two foundational claims of Descartes are first, the existence of the mind, and second, the existence of God. From these claims Descartes derives many others, including the argument for material objects and souls. As I lay out Descartes case, I will examine the philosophical resoluteness and validity of h is foundationalist account, as well as its merits and potential weaknesses. In the end, I will conclude that Descartes foundationalism, while alluring in its simplicity, does not stretch forth deeper investigation.Descartes first foundational argument asserts that atomic number 53 can have knowledge of ones own existence. The claim is essential to many arguments that follow because it survives his cheating Hypothesis. This hypothesis states that there may be a powerful cheating of supreme power who is deliberately and constantly deceiving me (Med III, p. 17). This demonstrates that we cannot know, or be trustworthy of, anything based on sensory experience alone. However, Descartes supports the idea that some things can be known entirely outside of sensory experience through the use of logic and re... ...undational premises, such as the existence of God and the mind, do not provide indisputable groundwork for Descartes argument. First begging the skepticism to prove the existe nce of the mind via dualism, and then conflating logic with cultural and in the flesh(predicate) ideals, these two tenets cannot stand on their own. In the case of Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy, foundationalism does not endure close scrutiny.Grade B-General comments Your paper doesnt in reality address the proceed. It does not discuss arguments that might be offered in estimation of Foundationalism or discuss how effective such arguments might be, nor does it address the motility of what arguments Descartes does offer. Theres also little in the way of focused discussion of what you pay back to be the problem with the position. It seems like you started on a different prompt and switched part-way through.