René Descartes (Leaving Cert Religious Education): Flashcards
📚Flashcards
Practise the cards
15 cards from this deck
ShowHide
Practise the cards
15 cards from this deck
René Descartes (dates & key contribution)
René Descartes (dates & key contribution)
French philosopher (1596-1650), founder of modern philosophy
Context of Descartes' time
Context of Descartes' time
Scientific Revolution era: scepticism, no reliable method for knowledge
Descartes' systematic doubt method
Descartes' systematic doubt method
Doubting anything possibly false to find absolute certainty
Rationalism in Descartes' philosophy
Rationalism in Descartes' philosophy
Mind, not senses, provides starting point for certain knowledge
Translation of 'Cogito ergo sum'
Translation of 'Cogito ergo sum'
I think therefore I am
Why cogito is Descartes' bedrock of certainty
Why cogito is Descartes' bedrock of certainty
Even when doubting, one must exist as a thinking being to doubt
Descartes' proof of God's existence
Descartes' proof of God's existence
Idea of perfect God in minds must come from God, so God exists
Cartesian Dualism definition
Cartesian Dualism definition
Division of reality into two substances: mind & matter
Res Cogitans meaning
Res Cogitans meaning
Thinking substance: mind/soul/spirit, non-physical
Res Extensa meaning
Res Extensa meaning
Extended substance: physical matter governed by physical laws
'Ghost in the machine' in Descartes
'Ghost in the machine' in Descartes
Mind (ghost) operating within physical body (machine)
Descartes' mechanical universe view
Descartes' mechanical universe view
Matter behaves by predictable laws of motion & inertia
Descartes' original intentions
Descartes' original intentions
Establish firm foundations for science free from theology
Deism definition (Descartes' path)
Deism definition (Descartes' path)
God created universe but remains outside, no longer intervening
Paradox of Descartes' legacy
Paradox of Descartes' legacy
His rational proof made it easier for God to disappear from view