An Analysis of Descartes’ Philosophy

An Analysis of Descartes’ Philosophy
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The main reason why Descartes oppose his opinions is to remove the very foundation of all his previous beliefs so he could explore the scientific and mathematical world in a blank state by eradicating the deceit that governs his mind. It is despite knowing that not all of his former beliefs are incorrect or doubtful.
In the following statement, we shall analyze the specifics of how Descartes doubts his opinions. The first two statements revolve around what he thinks can be subjected to skepticism. Firstly, Descartes objects to the concept of hopefulness. Formerly, he supported that hopefulness is the attitude driven by instinct. However, he despises himself if he continued believing this. He stated that how can someone believe that he is a king when he is a pauper? For Descartes, it is unfathomable due to a lack of logic. However, he doubts his belief because, in reality, he dreams of the same things at night, and sometimes, he imagines the more improbable situations, such as dreaming as if he were wearing a dressing-gown while he lays in bed undressed CITATION Des17 \l 13321 (Descartes, 2017).
Secondly, he justifies and doubts the concept of clarity—on whether clarity can only be gained while an individual is wide awake or asleep. Also, he doubts the concept of what is real and what is fake. Initially, Descartes suggests that when he is widely awake, he remembers the minute details of his actions compared to when he is asleep. Therefore, he thinks that whatever comes to his senses, such as seeing or feeling, is real when he is only wide awake. However, he contradicted himself by stating that he also remembers the details of his actions even when he is quite fuzzy. He then created a situation where what he sees in his sleep can also be seen in reality, such as hands, feet, and other body parts. It follows that although the body parts are in the dreams, it does not necessarily mean that an individual cannot see body parts as actual objects in reality CITATION Des17 \l 13321 (Descartes, 2017).
Descartes also compared clarity when one imagines while awake and when one does not. For instance, the painters imagine the concepts that they will create and paint them with life. They can imagine all sorts of things, including the body parts. Despite the objects being inside an image, it does not necessarily follow that...