Rene Descartes Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy - Essay Example

Insert In the Dis on Method and Meditation on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes uses hyperbolic doubt to eliminate false knowledge. The components of the hyperbolic doubt are the dream doubt and the evil genius doubt (which is commonly alternatively called the evil demon doubt). In the dream doubt, Descartes reckons that it is not possible to separate/ discern real life experiences from those in dreams since dreams can be quite convincing and vivid (Descartes, 1). He asserts that in the dream state one never realizes that the events in the dream are unreal until they wake up from sleep.

He even questions whether at the time of his writing he is truly awake or is indeed in an unceasing dream. In the dream doubt argument, Descartes fears that his present experiences could all turn out to be a huge dream and that in the end senses can be deceitful. He writes, ‘How often, asleep at night, am I convinced of such familiar events – that I am here in my dressing-gown, sitting by the fire – when in fact I am lying undressed in bed. I see that there are never any sure signs by means of which being awake can be distinguished from being asleep’ (Descartes, 1).

He thus renders the verdict that the truest source of knowledge of science and life comes not from senses (which are deceitful) but from the mind. He hence holds that the data obtained from senses are not always true and that the only way to obtain reliable knowledge is through strict adherence to reason in all problems/ questions encountered in life (and science). Using dreams as evidence of the flaws in trusting one’s senses, Rene postulates that at the very least, our senses must be tested and thoroughly examined to ascertain the truth in them.

He argues that the possibility of tricking the senses into accepting a false dream world as real denotes that the simulated realities is a common phenomenon and one that mankind should watch out for. In this argument, one could be dreaming at a time of a discovery/ new insight/ belief or the whole of life could be a dream (inexistent). After arguing out the dream doubt, Rene wanders on to the evil genius doubt. Descartes hypothesizes that (since God is infinitely good and incapable of deceit) there is a malicious being (demon), wielding immense power and who is very cunning/ clever, that has gone on in all the aggression it is capable of to seamlessly deceive him (Descartes, 1).

He therefore regards the earth and all in it as mere deceptions of an evil demon in order to alter his perception and reason of things. In this postulation, the experiences of everyday life are engineered by this entity that successfully creates in us the belief, experiences and perception that we are indeed habitats of a physical world while in truth there is no physical world. In the evil demon argument, as in the deceiving God argument, Descartes fears that perhaps he (and the rest of mankind) is under the control of a powerful entity that constantly deceives him about his experiences by brain feeding him with incorrect and misleading information.

This evil (genius) demon gives to one’s senses total illusions of his body and its sensations while in truth he has no body (and there’s no earth).Conclusion Both the dream doubt and the evil demon doubt argue that sense can be manipulated and can consequently not be entirely useful/ truthful in making sound deductions about life, and that knowledge must be based only on reason. These doubts continue to evoke deep and serious thought/ consideration amongst philosophers and mankind in general and have often proved difficult to refute.

However, there have often been observed a plethora of equally credible responses to counter these claims/ doubts. In the dream doubt, for instance, one may argue that though a dream may be fictitious, it merely borrows from a real and existing world. The evil demon doubt also, as many scholars argue, requires that this evil genius be omnipotent (for the lies to hold infinitely) – a position that is not accorded to this entity either by Descartes himself or by the Christian world.Works CitedDescartes, Rene.

"Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes." Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.