Roshan Mirajkar PHIL 253 Midterm Essay October 10th, 2015 Asimov’s short story “Reason” in I, Robot contains many Cartesian themes. Please interpret the short story using Descartes’ Meditations I, II, and III. Please use quotes from both texts to demonstrate your points. Does Asimov support or call into question the methods and results of Descartes’ thought experiment? Explain. Cogito ergo sum Asimov’s short story “Reason” in I, Robot is about a fictional robot character which uses reason to perceive and question its own existence. Similarly to Descartes, a robot named “QT” embarks on a philosophical journey to rid himself of any preconceived beliefs and ideas that cannot be confirmed(verified?) for certain, accepting only axiomatic principles. Although Descartes and QT live in different time periods and environments, they both challenge their current society’s belief systems and the macro view of existence itself which leads them to different conclusions about the world they exist in. Cutie goes through three phases of philosophical belief shift, each representing one three Descartes meditations. In the short story “Reason”, Asimov supports the ideas portrayed in the first three meditations explored by Descartes, through the use of themes, symbolism, and Cutie’s actions, which dawns new light on the concept of creation and existence. The short story begins with Cutie questioning the creation of his existence which represents Descartes first meditation. When Cutie is
He had realized that he needed to take time out of his rushed life and re-evaluate who he was and what everything meant. And this all started (when the kid asked about grass?). As he proceeds to speak about his journey, his thoughts become gradually more intricate. He begins to discover himself in correlation with the earth and awakens into a state of transcendentalism in order to truly find his self worth. He looks at the grass and sees it as another chance. He looks at the clouds and sees someone's worth. He looks at the dirt and sees living after death. As he embarks on this journey his views are changed and open for the whole world to
Rene Descartes was a philosopher that lived from 1596 to1650. In Meditations of First Philosophy, Descartes leaves the reader with two main themes: skepticism and the cogito. In this paper, I will be examining Descartes’s writings. Mainly, what Descartes’s project consisted of, skepticism, the arguments he gave as means to his project, and the cogito. In doing so I will explain how he left the reader with the two important philosophical notions of skepticism and cogito.
In Meditation Two of René Descartes’ Meditation on First Philosophy, he notes the sight of “men crossing the square.” This observation is important as Descartes states, “But what do I see aside from hats and clothes, which could easily hide automata? Yet I judge them to be men.” This is an important realization as Descartes argues that instead of purely noticing the men through sight, it is actually “solely with the faculty of judgement,” the mind, that perceives and concludes that the thing wearing a hat and clothes are men. I argue that this view of the outside world by Descartes is incomplete as his idea of “I” is faulty, as well as having a misunderstanding on the importance of the senses.
Sedaris, the main character, begins the short story by discussing what is occurring in the present, “I was on the front porch, drowning a mouse…when this van pulled up” (452). This story created a smooth transition to the next mini-story but also allowed for some background information to be conveyed including information
Before addressing the cyborg, the concept of the “other” and its place in Butler’s novel must be addressed as the bridge between the two theories. Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel was one of the first philosophers to define the concept of “otherness” and the “other.”
In his first meditation, Descartes proposes that the beliefs that are built upon societal foundations may be false; societal foundations being that in which we have accepted to be true in the masses. The first meditation is the beginning of doubt for Descartes. In the text, questionable doubt lurks in the world within our senses, knowledge, and false beliefs. In this paper, I will explain why Descartes attempts to rebuild the foundations of our beliefs and explain the differences between the reality of Descartes and the socially accepted reality. First, I will expand on Descartes' argument against the human senses in which we do not question. Then, I will show you how Descartes defines what is truly a definitive constant of reality using mathematics,
Descartes' formulation of what he calls the “Real Distinction” has proved foundational to our modern concepts of being and consciousness. His contention has irreversibly influenced the fields of psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and others while cementing into the popular consciousness the notion of a definite dichotomy between the mind and the body. In this paper, I will flesh out what Descartes' meant by the term “real distinction,” discuss the arguments he uses in its' defense, and then argue myself that this distinction between mind and body (at least as Descartes frames it) goes much too far, and that it is a much more viable probability to believe that mind and body are actually intertwined, one and the same.
In conclusion, this paper has explained Descartes view on bodies and animals, and analyzed whether Descartes believed that animals had minds. Explanation of Descartes view of minds and bodies has been provided, indicating that he believed that the mind and body were “tightly jointed”, as well as, his view of how the body would act without a mind. From these explanations, we have been able to conclude and explain why that Descartes would believe that animal do have minds.
In Descartes’ second Meditation, he presents his first premise and argument for personal existence, or the “cogito”. In this argument, he looks inward and searches for any stable truth to grab hold of. He reasons that even if he perceives his existence in a fallible way, he is still existing in the process of those perceptions. Therefore,
Throughout Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes argues for the ideas and philosophical beliefs behind skepticism. In his writings, he describes the fallibility and importance of the body of man and through extension the senses with which we observe the world. This paper will first show that within Descartes’ writings the body is an extension of the mind. Secondly, this paper will prove that the senses are a false form of understanding which leads to the deception of the mind. Finally, this paper will address the inconsistency that arises from these definitions of Descartes, specifically the incompatibility of a completely independent mind and a body dependent upon that mind.
This section aims to explore the existence of the material world and to dissolve three major claims made by Descartes: that God exists as a perfect being, that distinct judgments are no doubt true, and that mind and body are separate.
In the First Meditation, Descartes invites us to think skeptically. He entices us with familiar occasions of error, such as how the size of a distant tower can be mistaken. Next, an even more profound reflection on how dreams and reality are indistinguishable provides suitable justification to abandon all that he previously perceived as being truth. (18, 19) By discarding all familiarity and assumptions, Descartes hopes to eliminate all possible errors in locating new foundations of knowledge. An inescapable consequence of doubting senses and prior beliefs
It is the purpose of this essay to examine both Descartes’ Cogito argument and his skepticism towards small and universal elements, as well as the implications these arguments have on each other. First, I will summarize and explain the skepticism Descartes’ brings to bear on small and universal elements in his first meditation. Second, I will summarize and explain the Cogito argument, Descartes’ famous “I think, therefore I am” (it should be noted that this famous implication is not actually something ever said or written by Descartes, but instead, an implication taken from his argument for his own existence). Third, I will critique the line of reasoning underlying these arguments. Descartes attacks
This paper will attempt to explain Descartes’ first argument for the distinction that exists between mind and body. Dualism is a necessary aspect of Descartes’ metaphysics and epistemology. This distinction is important within the larger framework of Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) because after doubting everything (body, extension, senses, etc.), Descartes comes to the conclusion that because he doubts, he must be a thinking thing and therefore exist (p.43). This means that the mind must be separate and independent from the body. One can doubt that the body exists while leaving the mind intact. To doubt that the mind exists, however, is contradictory. For if the mind does not exist, how, or with what, is that doubt being accomplished.
During Meditations 2, Descartes establishes a version of his famous ‘cogito ergo sum’. He establishes that despite the fact that we may not know the world around us as well as we think we do, we can know the mind better and the trusting the mind can lead him to the seemingly justified conclusion that he exists.