Skepticism or Justified True Belief Elizabeth McIver ID: L25662046 PHIL 201 B06 Spring 2018 Abstract How do the Matrix, Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”, and Descartes’ “Meditation 1 of the Things of Which We May Doubt” compare and contrast to each other? Also, can we truly depend on our senses to aid us in our quest for knowledge?
Do we create our own reality? Science has concrete evidence, but religion has faith and a God that watches over and acts as an anchor in one’s life. Both science and religion have their merits which one believes in and lives by, but at the same time they both lead to pseudo security and reach for some intangible result that may never come. Similarly, the song “Cat 's in the Cradle” by Harry Chapman reflects a goal that is never reached because of selfish blindness.
James Dashner’s dystopian book, “The Eye of Minds,” takes place in the Virtnet, a virtual reality used to escape the real world. Michael, a user of the Virtnet, is asked for help. The VNS needed to find a gamer named Kaine, who has been causing chaos in the Virtnet. To complete the task at hand, Michael comes in contact with many obstacles. Because of this, he has to be determined to defeat Kaine, and bring the Virtnet back to sanity.
The Enlightened Philosophes Reject Absolutism Absolutism was the main form of government in 17th century France and was also experimented with in England. Until the 18th century, Absolutism was never really challenged because it was the norm throughout the countries in the world who had taken on this type of government. Once enlightened philosophes such as Voltaire, Thomas Hobbes, and Montesquieu came into play, monarchs felt threatened by their philosophies because they were using the right to freedom of speech, the rejection of divine right, and the need for checks and balances to challenge particular aspects of absolutism. Voltaire rejected the concept of absolutism with his belief that people deserved the right to express whatever they
Many rely on yet more conspiracies to answer: then why do these truths remain hidden? A Matrix-like realm pulling the strings? For some, having faith is not something that is easily explainable. It’s choosing to
According to skepticism, we can never reach a final decision regarding any issue because there will always be two opposing ideas that are equally compelling, in such a way that you cannot take anyone of them as a final answer. Sextus Empiricus, who is an ancient philosopher, explained in his book the principles of skepticism and the methods applied by a skeptic that will empower him to reach his ultimate goal which is mental tranquility. In this paper, I will discuss Sextus’s argument on how skepticism can bring peace to our life by shedding light on the steps that a skeptic uses while searching for knowledge. Moreover, I will be arguing against Sextus’s argument about assertions through presenting an argument from the Republic, in which it shows that assertions can lead us to mental tranquility.
This essay will examine the philosophical issues raised in the movie The Matrix, and the similarities of those issues and how they directly relate to, concepts raised by philosophies from both Descartes’ and Plato’s. Many of the issues raised in the movie are metaphors for concepts from each philosopher’s works, I will focus on skepticism and the mind-body problem and the relation of how they are presented in the film The Matrix ties in with the thoughts of scholar René Descartes and his Meditations on First Philosophy centered on Cartesian Dualism and doubt. Descartes attempts to question the presence of all physical material to establish certain knowledge; knowledge that he could be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt is true. Rene Descartes intentionally and promptly acknowledged that there were numerous double dealings throughout his life and was anxious to reveal reality. Compatible with alternate selections, Descartes perceived that his faculties and encounters had deluded
Skeptical consciousness and thus passive resistance is marked by a “negative response to otherness”
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
It is evident that whoever adopts the method of technology as the sole way of seeking truth must give up any idea of penetrating the profound realities of organic life, and even more so those of the spiritual life, living realities of the individual
In Rene Descartes’ famous work, Meditation I of the Things of Which We May Doubt, he believes there is an evil demon out there that controls our reality, in which all we perceive is a lie. The last example is a move from the 1990s, The Matrix. In this movies, the earth has been subdued by machines, and mankind is being used to fuel their power. The way
My Christian worldview shapes my two philosophy choices in numerous ways. One way my Christian worldview shapes my Essentialism philosophy choice is by giving our student a road map of what will be expected as an adult. Psalm 32:8 states “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Just as God teaches, instructs, guides us daily, educators must teach our students the basic skills needed in order to thrive daily and as an adult. One way my Christian worldview shapes my Progressivism philosophy choice is by teaching our students to be considerate of others.
and confusion, that a leap of faith is required to pass through and beyond the unknown context of our rational and conscious reality, and thus so as far as we can see, to understand our consciousness, as we believe it should be, in that we are contained in every aspect of our faith, hope and belief, as we are often presented with more than just a rational imagination, of what lies beyond our eventful fate or worries and concerns, and so within the mind of dreams, we are presented with a super imagination, where extraordinary things exist and take effect much beyond our physical comprehension, although very much aligned to the interconnectedness within our emotions, that brings with it a super reality, where we can accept the tangibility of
I find that areas of knowledge based on sense perception often require constant consensus and consistent disagreement to ensure that the developed knowledge is robust. Alternatively, if the main way of knowing is faith, such as in religion or mathematics (believing in the closed axiomatic system), then there is no disagreement, yet the claims are irrefutable because they are based in faith, and as such, once accepted allow knowledge to be created and justified through all standards of truth. My response to this claim that “robust knowledge requires both consensus and disagreement” is that I agree with a modified version of this title, that robust knowledge from areas of knowledge based in sense perception requires both consensus and
As said before, with perception we go to the ‘source’ and take our own conclusions of
