Epistemology is the theory of knowledge; it explores what something is and what makes it what it is. To fully comprehend or know what anything is, epistemology asks the questions, who/what, when, where, why and how. In order to justify our belief and prove something to be true, it dissects the object and pulls it apart to its very core and gets to the bottom of what it truly is. Rene Descartes and John Locke were two of the most prominent philosophers in modern times. Both expressed their very different views. One can say both philosophers agree that there is a need to question everything before them; however, it is how they came to the conclusion that sets them apart. One was a rationalist who studied things through reasoning and intuition and the other was an empiricist based his perception through observation and experience. Both made compelling arguments whether or not we can use reasoning, experience and deduction to prove if anything exist. …show more content…
Therefore, if he exists so must God. Descartes applied those same concepts to the theory of knowledge. He was a rationalist who believed that knowledge is innate. He supposed that all information is embedded within us long before we were born, and as we progress in life, we will liberate such knowledge. For instance, a rationalist will contest why a child is able to grasps languages. They believe that all infant know all languages and a language must first be unlocked. It isn’t that a young child is able to absorb a new language much quicker than his mature counterparts; it is that the language was already implanted within him and the child is better able to unlock