Compare And Contrast Descartes And Francis Bacon

Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon were both the children of modern thought and modern science. They tried to revolutionize the old scholastic way of thought and learning. Descartes was considered the first modern philosopher and Cartesian philosophy won many followers in the 17th century. Bacon, too, was highly influential and his theories on the organization of the sciences had a great effect on the sciences in his time and into the future. So Both Descartes and Bacon had great roles in the Scientific Revolution. Modern philosophy developed alongside the Scientific Revolution and both influenced and affected each other. Therefore, many of the great early philosophers were also important scientists, and, unlike Bacon, so was Descartes. Thus even though both these men share points in common, they also have many differences, either in their backgrounds or in their way of thought. We will focus mainly on comparing and contrasting the methods used by both Bacon and

In order to be right about claiming that the senses do deceive, a person should have recognized that an error has actually occurred. So the person distinguished between being mistaken and being correct. (For example knowing that heat mirages on the roads are deceptions, one has successfully classed them as optical illusion). Thus one is able to see through the deception and thus avoid being deceived. Oddly, it must be concluded that in presenting examples of how the senses deceive, one is also presenting examples of how we are able to see through deceptions. Ironically, in arguing that he has been deceived by his senses, Descartes also argues that we can see through these deceptions. I do not claim that we are never deceived, just that we can overcome such deceptions. Therefore we can trust our senses as long as we are aware and cautious. Thus, Descartes’ argument does not validate the degree of skepticism