Chapter 2 - Descartes, Locke, and Leibniz Flashcards
Rene Descartes
- rationalist in his method of acquiring knowledge
- dualist about the mind and the body
- described the human body and the mind as 2 interactives but distinctly different entities
analytic geometry (Descartes)
a discipline that integrates geometry with algebra
- allowed any point in space to be described by numerical distances from other lines or points in its vicinity
methodological doubt (Descartes)
a systematic way of questioning beliefs in order to establish a foundation of certain knowledge
cogito ergo sum
i think, therefore i am
which 2 properties could be used to explain all physical phenomena
- extension (the space occupied by an object)
- motion (movement of the object in space)
- are true outside of us, the appearances of the world
which qualities did Galileo Galilei introduce
- primary qualities (form, quantity, motion)
- secondary qualities (sight, sound, smell, sensation)
- how we personally and subjectively experience the world (reference to Plato and his idealism)
moving particles (Descartes)
Descartes thought the world was made up of particles of fire, air, and earth that fill everything
mechanistic physiology (Descartes)
- Descartes saw the body as a moving machine
- believed that no soul was needed (contrary to Aristotle)
what fluid did Descartes believe nerves were filled with, and how did it function
- animal spirits (cerebrospinal fluid)
- the animal spirit was set in motion when the body collides with an external object/stimulus resulting in a reflex
unconditioned reflex
involuntary responses in the organ that senses the stimulus
acquired reflex
based on experience and learning such as driving a car or playing an instrument (after a while they become automatic)
how could animal spirits explain passions or emotions
- when one is angry the fluids are very active, and the stimulus might trigger a violent response
- when one is sad, the fluids are calm, thus the small reaction and calm response
Descartes conclusion
the body and the mind are 2 different things
- a rational soul with innate ideas (God, infinity, substance) because the rational soul is characterized with thinking
- the ideas in my mind are independent of the outside world
what question did Elizabeth of Bohemia raise, and what was Descartes explanation
she wanted to know how the interaction between the body and the mind is happening
- Descartes stated the interaction takes place in the pineal gland, however no complete answer was able to be given
John Locke
an english empiricist philosopher inspired by Descartes
- believed that we can learn from the outside in a mechanistic/automatic way
- no soul with innate ideas was necessary for knowledge (rejecting the idea of interactive dualism and the rational soul)
tabula rasa (Locke)
Locke’s most famous work, the inexperienced human mind is a blank sheet
- only way the blank sheet can be arranged is through experience, the basis for all knowledge
the 2 possible kinds of experiences (according to Locke)
- sensations of the object in the external world
- reflections (combination of the sensations) of the mind’s operations
- together these experiences form ideas in the mind which can be recalled (memories)
the Molyneux problem (concept of simple and complex ideas)
a man is blind from birth but learns to distinguish a cube and ball with his sense of touch, if he was gained the ability to see, would he be able to distinguish between the cube and ball with only sight?
- no, because the man has not made the association with the look/feel of a cube or ball
Locke’s 3 categories of knowledge
intuitive knowledge
- grasping the world without need of proof or explanation (understanding that black is different from white)
demonstrative knowledge
- reasoned knowledge with clear, distinct ideas, and logical proofs
sensitive/sensory knowledge
- knowledge gained through direct sensory experience
sensory knowledge
according to Locke, the most common and most disturbed form of knowledge
- due to people depending on their senses (one’s experience of the world could be incomplete)
association of ideas (Locke)
the combination of different ideas
- some ideas have a natural connection with each other, others are associated with each other purely by chance
how ideas become associated with each other
contiguity
- the simultaneous experience of 2 or more ideas or when they co-occur at the same time, and we then start associating them
similarity
- things that resemble each other
became known as the law of association by contiguity and the law of association by similarity
social contract (Locke)
the relationship between the authority of the state and the individual
what did John Mill argue regarding people and their environment
if one’s own thoughts and actions are merely the consequences of interactions, education is very important, and a person’s personality will be the result of the interactions one has with one’s environment
- people are the product of their environment
pantheism (Leibniz/Spinoza)
God is not an independent being who governs the entire universe, but God himself is the entire universe
- taught to Leibniz by Spinoza
what did Leibniz believe after having met Spinoza and van Leeuwenhoek
he believed that everything consists of living things and that the mind is active when constructing knowledge about the world
monadism
a philosophical concept suggesting that reality is made up of “monads” each containing the essence of the entire universe
4 categories of monads (Leibniz)
- supreme monad
- equated with God
- contains perception, apperception, and deeper consciousness, which governs everything that happens in the universe - rational monad
- combination of sentient monads to become one’s soul or mind
- able to use apperception (an ideas is not only registered by also further interpreted/active thinking about an idea) - sentient monad
- perception and a kind of consciousness
- perception is automatic, no thinking is necessary - simple/bare monad
- only have the concept of consciousness (perception)
- combined, these monads form the basis for physical bodies and material objects
minute observations (Leibniz)
attributed by Leibniz to bare monads
- experiencing things unconsciously
necessary truths
statements or propositions that are true by virtue of their own nature and do not depend on empirical evidence or contingent facts
- 2+2=4
- pythagorean theorem
