Core Concepts in Rationalist Epistemology
Self-Mastery and the Control of Desire
The core idea is self-conquest. This concept suggests that our mind naturally desires things that are possible to obtain or create, and does not dwell on impossible things. It is necessary to alter or change our desires before attempting to change the order of the world, because the only things truly in our hands are our desires and thoughts. Everything else is beyond our powers. Since happiness is the desire to avoid suffering, the fewer desires we have, the easier it will be to satisfy them. To be happy, little must be desired.
Descartes, Solipsism, and the Proof of God
After doubting the existence of bodies and minds, Descartes discovers the existence of the thinking self (the cogito), which is the only thing he can be certain of. The existence of the self does not imply the existence of any other reality, especially considering the hypothesis of the Evil Genius. Since he does not yet know if anyone else exists, he initially falls into solipsism. However, he immediately attempts to prove that he is not alone by demonstrating the existence of God.
Steps to Escape Solipsism
- Analyze the ideas of the self.
- Demonstrate the existence of God through innate ideas.
- Present God as the guarantor of the criterion of truth, thereby nullifying the hypothesis of the Evil Genius.
- Deduce the existence of the external world from divine goodness and truth.
Epistemological Concepts: Evidence and Ideas
Evidence is intuitive knowledge whose content we can affirm as true without doubt.
Classes of Ideas
- A) Adventitious: Ideas that seem to come from an external reality (e.g., physical objects like a tree or body). Their origin is questionable if the external world is doubted.
- B) Factitious: Ideas invented by the self, derived from other ideas (e.g., mermaid, unicorn).
- C) Innate: Ideas possessed by the understanding itself. These are few but crucial, serving as primitives from which knowledge is built deductively (e.g., the existence of the thinking self).
Adventitious and factitious ideas do not serve as a starting point to demonstrate extra-mental reality. Adventitious ideas are suspect because they rely on experience, and factitious ideas are arbitrarily constructed by thought, making their validity questionable. Only innate ideas facilitate communication with the outside world.
Saint Anselm’s Ontological Argument
The argument states that God, conceived as the perfect being that includes all perfections, cannot be thought not to exist without contradiction. If God lacked existence, He would lack a perfection. Therefore, the essence of God (perfection) necessarily includes existence.
Skepticism: Definitions and Manifestations
Skepticism is the concept in the theory of knowledge which holds that the human mind is unable to justify true statements.
- Radical Skepticism: Argues that there is no objectively true statement that the human mind can justify, asserting the utter impossibility of true statements. Critics argue that radical skepticism refutes itself or is impossible, since it denies its own claim.
- Moderate Skepticism: States that few objectively true statements exist. Methodical doubt and criticism are manifestations of moderate skepticism.
Defining Truth and Intuition
Truth: Conformity between what is said, thought, or believed, and reality (what is or what happens). Traditionally, truth is interpreted as the coincidence between the mind and reality, or between statements and facts. A statement is true if it describes the facts as they are, and false if it does not.
Intuition: Can be understood as the immediate feeling attached to knowing something without being consciously aware of the reasons why it is known. It is immediate knowledge, where the known object is captured directly by the relevant faculty (sensitivity or understanding).
The Nature and Supremacy of Reason
Reason is the power to distinguish truth from falsehood, naturally equal in all men. Thought, imagination, and memory are its components; they contribute to the perfection of wit. Reason distinguishes us from animals and is inherent in every individual.
Epistemological Implications
- Autonomy and supremacy of reason compared to the medieval conception of knowledge.
- Rationalism (contrasted with empiricism) and nativism.
- Structure of human reason.
- Modes of knowledge: intuition and deduction.
Anthropological Dualism
The concept of man as a rational being, with all men being equal in this regard. Discussion of the powers that compose reason and the possibility of perfecting it.