Compare the respective approaches of rationalism and empiricism towards a theory of knowledge Rationalism

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Amandeep Gill 12IT – Mr Sutch – Comparing Rationalism and Empiricism

Compare the respective approaches of rationalism and empiricism towards a theory of knowledge

Rationalism

Rene Descartes was the main rationalist. He said he believed he had to doubt everything known to him to really understand knowledge.

Rationalism first began in Ancient Greece with two extreme rationalists – Parmenides and Zeno. Rationalists believed in innate ideas – ones that are present at birth, in the mind.

When Descartes started his thoughts, it was in the 17th century, during the rise of science. Descartes decided to set up a new system of knowledge to replace the knowledge of the church. This is where Descartes introduced his ‘Method of Doubt’. In his ‘Method of Doubt’, he couldn’t question every single object, so concentrated on three main things:

  • The Senses
  • Physical Bodies
  • Maths and The Sciences

He said he could doubt all by the following explanations

  • The Senses – can be deceived – e.g. Optical Illusions, you think you can see something when it’s not there
  • Physical Bodies – dreaming – e.g. do you know you are awake now? Or are you dreaming?
  • Maths and The Sciences – Descartes couldn’t think of a valid reason, so blamed an Evil Demon.

All Descartes knew, was his thoughts. He felt he could doubt everything about everything, but all he thought that was real was his thoughts. This is where he came up with his famous quote,

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“I Think Therefore I Am”

Spinoza was another rationalist. He was Jewish, and fled from persecution from his home in Spain. His beliefs upset the Jewish faith and his family disowned him. He was a very odd man. On the death of his wealthy parents, his sister got all of their wealth, so he went to court to get his share. He won and gave all the money back to his sister. He worked as a lens grinder, which led to an early death, due to the effects of glass dust on his lungs.

Spinoza thought that everything was ...

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