In fact Rene Descartes believes a negative thinking person is the polar opposite of a skeptic, opinions expressed in the negative would lead Descartes to dismiss such person from being a legitimate skeptic. ... Descartes himself described Meditations as being a philosophy much like a tree. ... In Meditation One Descartes flooded his mind with doubt. On page 17 of Meditations on First Philosophy Descartes says " it was necessary.. to demolish everything completely and start again right from the foundations if I wanted to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likel...

• Word Count: 1154
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

This proposition is a fundamental element in Western philosophy, as it is presupposed by all knowledge. Descartes' original phrase, je pense, donc je suis, which is first written in his Discourse on the Method. ... First of all, "Cogito ergo sum" has to be in first-person. ... According to Descartes's meditation, "I have convinced myself that there is absolutely nothing in the world, no sky, no earth, no minds, no bodies." (Meditation. 2, Oeuvres de Descartes 7:25) If I am not certain of the existence of my legs, then I can prove that I exist using this propos...

• Word Count: 939
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School