RENÉ

DESCARTES
(1596-1650)
 RENÉ DESCARTES
7th century French Philosopher

Father of Modern Philosophy

Cogito Ergo Sum (I Think, Therefore I

Am)
 GLOBAL SCEPTICISM
the idea that all beliefs can be doubted;
this even includes beliefs which to many of us
would seem odd to doubt.(e.g. I have a body and
2+2=4).

*A global sceptic is certainly not someone you

would want to eat lunch with.
Descartes disagrees with global scepticism and sets out
to prove that we can be certain about what we
consider to be true.
To start, Descartes wonders what would actually give
him reason to doubt all of his beliefs.
He concludes that it would take an all-powerful evil
demon whose sole purpose is to trick him into thinking
that all of his beliefs are true when they are not. Given
the almighty power of the demon, he even deceives
Descartes of beliefs that are considered to more secure.
For example, all squares have four sides.
Descartes concludes that he can only be certain on one
belief
“I am thinking.”
Nothing not even an all powerful evil demon could make
him doubt that he is thinking, since to doubt that you are
thinking would be thinking in itself. From here
Descartes now reasons that because it is true that I am
thinking, then it must also be true that I exist.
Therefore at this moment we can be certain of only two
beliefs, which are, I am thinking and I exist, hence the
famous quote “I think therefore I am.”
Each person has a triadic existence: a mind in a
body in the world.
Stressed the certainty of individualism.
Descartes views that being human starts with
the self.
Knowledge is a product of the rational mind.
 I think therefore I am - signals a
commitment to working through
emotional confusion, prejudice, and
unhelpful tradition, in order to arrive at
an independent rationally founded
vision of existence.
As God as all knowing, all powerful,
and all good, he would not allow the
existence of an evil demon that
deceives Descartes into sensing a
world that is not real.
God gave us free will – choose
truth or falsity.
SHORT STORY ABOUT
DESCARTES
In 1649, Descartes finished another great work: 'Passions of the Soul’.
 Outcome of six years of correspondence with a royal acquaintance, the Princess Elizabeth of
Bohemia, who was a keen amateur philosopher, and a rather emotional and turbulent soul.
 She had written to Descartes begging him to write about passions in order that she might
get to know and control her own more clearly.
 Descartes thought that the ancient philosophers had done a poor job of analyzing the
passions. He therefore opened the Passions of the Soul with a characteristic claim: 'I shall
be obliged to write just as if I were considering a topic that no one had dealt with before
me.”
 The world provides a beautiful taxonomy of pretty much any passion one might feel, as well
as descriptions of their causes, effects, and functions. This is followed by another section
called 'The Discipline of Virtue', a manual of advice on how we can control our passions and
enjoy a virtuous life.
 Descartes identified Six Fundamental Passions:
WONDER, LOVE, HATRED, DESIRE, JOY AND SADNESS.
 He believed that a key task of being a Philosopher was to help people
understand and therefore control their passions; that is, become a little
less anxious, status-driven, scared or inclined to fall head over heels in
love with inappropriate people. Even those who have the weakest
souls can acquire absolute mastery over their passions, if they work
hard enough at training and guiding them.
 In 1646, Queen Christina of Sweden got interested in sorting out issues
in her mind and began a correspondence with Descartes. In 1649, she
even persuaded the philosopher to move to Sweden to tutor her in
passion and philosophy. 5:00 AM - LEARNING hours. The harsh cold
soon made Descartes ill. He died of pneumonia in 1650 at the age of
53.
JOHN LOCKE
(1632-1704)
 EMPIRICISM
The view that all concepts originate in experience,
that all concepts are about or applicable to things that
can be experienced, or that all rationally acceptable
beliefs or propositions are justifiable or knowable
only through experience. This broad definition
 accords with the derivation of the
term empiricism from the ancient Greek
word empeiria, “experience.”
 INNATE IDEAS
The content of the experience/s are called
“ideas” which includes perceptions and
thoughts.
Once born the ideas that we acquire are simple
raw ones and these mix together into more
complex ones.
 SUBSTANCE
The philosophical term ‘substance’ corresponds to
the Greek ousia, which means ‘being’, transmitted
via the Latin substantia, which means ‘something
that stands under or grounds things’.
Locke argues that objects simply are what they are –
made up of microscopic particles existing because
they exist. According to Locke, the mind cannot
completely grasp the idea of a substance as it
“always falls beyond knowledge”.
 IDENTITY OVER TIME
Personal identity is an issue of our consciousness
throughout time and not of the arrangement of
our physical parts.
The self endures because of memory.
Conscious awareness and memory of previous
experiences are the keys to understanding the self
 How, then, do we know whether any of our
ideas correspond with reality? 
Locke argues that, with simple ideas,
God designed our minds so that our
ideas are adapted to external reality.
SIGMUND
FREUD
(1856-1939)
“Turn your eyes inward, look into your own depths, learn to first
know yourself”
 SIGMUND FREUD
Father of Modern Psychology
Primary developer of
Psychoanalysis
Exploration of the Unconscious
 PSYCHOANALYSIS
As Freud conceived, it emphasized unconscious
forces, biologically based drives of sex and aggression
and unavoidable conflicts in Early Childhood. Those
were considered the rules and shapers of our
personality.
It attempts to explain personality, motivation and
psychological disorders by focusing on the influence
of early childhood experiences.
LEVELS OF MENTAL LIFE
CONSCIOUS – all sensations and experiences of which
we are aware at any given moment.
UNCONSCIOUS – all elements that we are not aware of. It
consists of sexual and aggressive instincts that are
unacceptable to the conscious personality.
 PRE-CONSCIOUS – storehouse of memories,
perceptions and thoughts which we are not consciously
aware at the moment but we can summon into consciousness.
 REFERENCES
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAjWUrwvxs4

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A6UKoMcE10

 http://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/315/08-315-locke.htm
 Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of personality. Boston:
McGraw-Hill.