The Suffering of An Idealist The Stoic philosophers teach that pain in and of itself is neither good nor evil. I tend to agree with them, because pain can be a means to a good, “no pain no gain”. Suffering is not the mere feeling of pain, it is a painful realization that some good is being or has been destroyed. When I was a youth, I believed very strongly […]
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The Brothers Karamazov: III. The Foundation of Morality
In a previous post, I formulated Dostoevsky’s argument that belief in God is necessary for morality from an ontological perspective. In this post, I’ll formulate it from an epistemological perspective. I’ll demonstrate that knowledge of God is the foundation of morality, following the method of René Descartes. Foundation of Knowledge In his Meditations, Descartes reasoned that ideas formed within our mind have their origin beyond our mind, that is, our ideas are […]
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Berkeley: A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
The Meaning of Reality I’ve learned since childhood that reality is what exists independently of human perception and knowledge. We gain knowledge of reality if and only if our ideas correspond to it. Fantasy is that which has no correspondence in reality, and exists only in the mind of an individual. Unless he communicates his fantasy, others have no way of knowing it. George Berkeley shows a different way of […]
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A Discourse with Descartes
N: Cartesius, ever since I read your treatise “Meditations on First Philosophy: In which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated”, I’ve wished to meet you in person and discuss the subjects in detail. C: Is that why you imagined this conversation with me? N: Unfortunately, I have no power of imagination, with which you are abundantly gifted. C: Nemo, you’re gifted with the faculty […]
Read moreThe Pursuit of Certainty: From Descartes to Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard evidently read Descartes, because he objected to the latter’s famous argument, “I think, therefore I am”, and the notion that doubt is derived from knowledge. It might appear that the two of them belong to different camps, but I have reason to believe that Descartes influenced/inspired Kierkegaard in his conception of “subjective certainty”. Descartes’ Certainty It was Descartes who first brought “subjective certainty” to the forefront of philosophical thought, […]
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“Meditations on First Philosophy” by René Descartes
Descartes’ Wax: Why the Mind is Distinct From the Body Descartes was meditating in his chair by the fire with a piece of wax in his hand. He had formed a notion that wax was something with a fixed shape, size, color and smell, when the wax began melting due to the heat, and changed into an indistinct mass. It became obvious that his previous notion was erroneous (not only […]
Read more“Rules for the Direction of the Mind” by René Descartes
Rule I. All sciences are nothing but human wisdom, which always remains one and same, and is no more altered by the different subjects it is applied to, than is the light of the sun by the variety of the objects it illuminates. All sciences are interconnected and interdependent, therefore it is not necessary for the mind to be confined within any limits. Before delving into some particular science, we […]
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