ThePhilosophyCenter

 Hello! Today we will begin a 3-part series regarding rationalism.  Rationalism was a major school of thought in the Enlightenment era that opposed the other major philosophy, Empiricism. Rationalism has three philosophers we will cover, the first of which being Descartes.  ----- CHARACTER PROFILE: RENE DESCARTES Born: 1596, France. Died: 1650, Essex, United Kingdom, aged 53. Works: Meditations on First Philosophy etc. Ideas: Rationalism, Dualism Text Intro: Rene Descartes was a French rationalist philosopher best known for the belief "I think, therefore I am". He also was a mathematician and scientist.   ------ He believed that there were eternal truths that are always correct and do not need sensing to know. However, there were some truths he said did need some empirical basis, accompanied by the scientific method. These eternal truths include mathematical ones such as 2+2=4, etc. The statement "I think, therefore I am" implies that if we have the abillity to ...

 Hello! I forgot to write on Monday so this Wednesday will be the replacement.  Today we will discuss David Hume, an influential Empiricist philosopher after Locke. He is a very important figure in philosophy, politics, and religion. Before seeing his empiricist theories, let's study his other views. 1.  He was among the first to oppose the traditional religious belief and began secular philosophy and morality. He criticized the standards of the time. This is why we definitely be careful while discussing empiricism. He was against miracles. 2.  He was also a historian and had political views, especially pro-monarchist, supporting the statement that monarchy was optimal. He was anti-mercantilist (mercantilism being the practice of trade through import taxes to generate money). Hume's Empiricism He was strongly against innate ideas, which was a key rationalist belief, and then divides the knowledge in our minds into two kinds of phenomena: that being impressions and id...

 Hello! In our second Empiricism episode we will discuss the philosophy of another British Empiricist philosopher, namely John Locke.  Before we see John Locke's empiricism, he is also a large contributor to modern society, especially modern governments. He first thought of modern liberal government - the government that is based on the rights of individual liberty and concepts such as secularism, freedom of press, and religious freedom. Now let's discuss his epistemology. But before.... ----- CHARACTER PROFILE: JOHN LOCKE Born: 1632, Wrington, United Kingdom. Died: 1704, Essex, United Kingdom.. Works: "A Letter Concerning Toleration", "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding", etc. Ideas: Limited Government, Natural Rights, Empiricism Text Intro: John Locke was an English philosopher born in 1632. He found an interest in philosophy. He became a physician (modern day equivalent of a doctor). Afterwards, he went to the Netherlands and returned. In his 50s and...