Descartes' Method of Doubt - An Analysis

Running head: DESCARTES' METHOD OF DOUBT - AN ANALYSIS
DESCARTES' METHOD OF DOUBT - AN ANALYSIS
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1DESCARTES' METHOD OF DOUBT - AN ANALYSIS
René Descartes is a celebrated mathematician, philosopher and scientist of France and is
known for the theories that he had put forth on the development of the psyche of the human
beings. The philosopher is famous for his work on the identity of the self and the establishment
of the concept through the proper and believable justifications of the concept (Descartes). The
philosopher is also known for the establishment of the fact that perception is not reliable and thus
tends to believe in the fact that the only proper method of doing so is the method of deduction
from the knowledge that is already prevalent within the mind of the concerned individual. The
following essay opens with a study of the Cartesian Method of Doubt and thereafter proceeds to
put forth a critical analysis on the theory as proposed by the celebrated French philosopher.
The Cartesian Method of Doubt as proposed by the French philosopher, is one of the
forms of the methodological skepticism which is also known as the Cartesian skepticism,
hyperbolic doubt, methodological skepticism, methodic doubt or the Universal Doubt
(Williams). The Cartesian Method of Doubt refers to the systematic processes that are involved
in the matters that involve the phase of being skeptical or doubtful about the truthfulness and the
credibility of one’s beliefs and existence. The concerned method is one of the most used
characteristic methods that are used in the philosophical studies as put forth by the concerned
philosophers. The concerned method of skepticism in discussion, the Cartesian Method of Doubt
is one of those methods that was devised by the celebrated philosopher in order to ascertain the
ultimate truth of the beliefs that were ingrained in the minds of the concerned person (Descartes
p. 15). The philosopher further points out the fact that there exists a certain difference between
the concepts of the methodological skepticism and skepticism in the philosophical fields. The
methodological skepticism deals with the scrutinizing the truthfulness of the various claims
thereby helping in the differentiation of the credible truths from the false ones whereas the basic

2DESCARTES' METHOD OF DOUBT - AN ANALYSIS
form of the philosophical skepticism is the fact that the approach deals with the possibility of a
certain form of knowledge. The Cartesian Method of Doubt states that the certainty of the
knowledge can be reached with the help of the strong footing on the facts that deal with the
matters which cannot be doubted by the concerned person (Van Manen). The skeptical method
as proposed by the celebrated French philosopher tends to put forth the conditions that deal with
the fundamental values and beliefs that cannot be doubted by the concerned individual.
The process of deriving the ultimate truth as described by the French philosopher consists
of four steps that might help in the derivation of the ultimate truth. The first step in the process
involves the acceptance of the previously accomplished truth, the truth that had been proved in
the earlier times thereby leaving no scope for the doubt in the concerned matter (Durkheim). The
second step in the process requires the breaking down of the concerned truth or fact into various
smaller units that might need to be analyzed. The third step that is involved in the process of
deriving the ultimate truth is the matter that deals with the bringing forth of the solution of the
smaller problems in the first place thereby easing the ways in which the simple problems might
be solved. This might help in the solving of the conditions that are related to the matters that deal
with the larger problems that are related to the conditions that are faced by the concerned
individual. The final step covered in the process of finding the truth is the fact that deals with the
composition of the completed lists of the problems that might arise in the future times. The final
step, as discussed in the Cartesian Method of Doubt, might be summed up in the statement
Cogito ergo sum that might be translated as “I think, therefore I am” (Descartes). This statement
helps in summing up the various solutions that might be derived from the questioning and the
analysis of the facts that have been dealt with by the individual while analyzing the credibility of
the truth that has been presented to the concerned individual.