Descartes, considered by many to be the father of modern philosophy, used doubt as a method to find certainty and believed that knowledge came from within the mind.7 During his search for certainty Descartes wrote his Six Meditations, which explained his views on knowledge, innate ideas, causality, dualism, and metaphysics. To introduce his theory of knowledge, Descartes assumed that nothing existed. He trusted nothing, not even his own senses or thoughts. By doubting everything, he began to believe that the only certain thing was that there is no certainty.2 Eventually, after he thoroughly explored his doubts, he came to the realization that he must exist in order to have said doubts. This brought him to the conclusion “I think, therefore I am.”2 Descartes then used this conclusion, also known as the Cogito, as the foundation for his other theories. Unfortunately, although Descartes’ meditations do have strong points, some of his theories are severely flawed. Because of the problems with Descartes’ meditations, other philosophers, such as David Hume, came up with counter arguments. However, the rationalist views of Descartes and the empiricist perspectives of Hume are two very different extremes, and perhaps the reality lies somewhere in the middle.
Once Descartes established the existence
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Hume, unlike Descartes, did not believe in innate ideas.3 Instead, Hume believed that knowledge is acquired through impressions, or experiences, rather than through the mind.3 He argued that all information, impressions, and beliefs understood by humans were received through the body and the senses. Therefore, the only purpose of the mind was to sort information, rather than to create it.3 Hume considered the body to be more powerful than the mind, arguing that thoughts had more to do with matter than with the substance of the mind itself.