Comparing Knowledge in Descartes’ Meditations on First...

Comparing Knowledge in Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy and Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Rationalists would claim that knowledge comes from reason or ideas, while empiricists would answer that knowledge is derived from the senses or impressions. The difference between these two philosophical schools of thought, with respect to the distinction between ideas and impressions, can be examined in order to determine how these schools determine the source of knowledge. The distinguishing factor that determines the perspective on the foundation of knowledge is the concept of the divine. Descartes is a prime example of a rationalist. Descartes begins his Meditations on First†¦show more content†¦Once the certainty of Res Cogitans is developed, clear and distinct perceptions are replaced with clear and distinct ideas. It is these ideas from which Descartes derive knowledge, including the existence of Res Extensa (corporeal things). Therefore, Descartes, a rationalist, derives his knowledge from ideas and reason, all of which stem from an instance of natural light. The empiricists, however, do not believe in natural light and therefore do not hold knowledge to be derived from these innate ideas. David Hume is one of these empiricists. Hume was a scientist and an atheist; his occupation and beliefs disallowed him from holding innate ideas to be a valid basis for knowledge. In An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Hume points out a hierarchy that exists among ideas and impressions: â€Å"the most lively thought is still inferior to the most lively impression† (Hume: 10). Hume also establishes that for all of his ideas he can trace them back to impressions, those for things which he has not had impressions of he cannot have an idea. â€Å"What never was seen, or heard of, may yet be conceived:† (Hume: 11) â€Å"A blind man can form no notion of colours; a deaf man of sounds† (Hume: 12). From these impressions and ideas stem two kinds of knowledge: relations of ideas and matters of fact. Relation of ideas are a priori and do not need to beShow MoreRelatedDescartes and Hume: A Look at Skepticism and Finding Stability915 Words   |  4 PagesRenà © Descartes was a skeptic, and thus he believed that in order for something to be considered a true piece of knowledge, that â€Å"knowledge must have a certain stability,† (Cottingham 21). In his work, Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes concludes that in order to achieve this stability, he must start at the foundations for all of his opinions and find the basis of doubt in each of them. David Hume, however, holds a different position on skepticism in his work An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding