Descartes Foundation Of Knowledge Analysis

Epistemology deals with the theory of knowledge. Descartes attempted to build a steady, secure foundation of knowledge. One of his goals was to organize knowledge in a way that is understandable and structured because the structure of thing does indeed dictate function, and building a strong foundation creates an even stronger argument. That was what he was aiming for. Foundation can be described as the underlying basis for something. It as to be steady and strong or everything else on top will crumble to the floor. Descartes method for the foundation of knowledge was the method of doubt. Unlike Empiricism, which view knowledge as deriving from experience, Descartes was a rationalist and believed that knowledge derived from reason. He refers …show more content…
With the dream argument, there are method to determine whether we are being deceived in a dream or not. Being able to decide if one is dreaming or not all depends on the answer because out senses tell us an abundant amount of things. The methods do not clearly justify being awake or dreaming. Descartes wants us to see things on the outside world though our minds. He does not argue what exists and does not exist but he argues that our senses of knowledge can lead to the doubt of reality or anything that requires certainty. The dream argument creates doubt on beliefs that we may have. We cannot tell that we are always dreaming because the dream reflects on the reality of things and the may seem real, with normal real life events. The conclusion of the dream argument is that not knowing leads to uncertainty which leads to doubt which is the foundation of knowledge. The dream argument is direct to the external world. The overall message that Descartes is sending out is that are senses cannot be fully trusted because it may deceive us from what is real or not. He also illustrates that foundation of knowledge comes from reasons. He wants to create a strong foundation to support is