Descartes' Rationalism in First Three Meditations: A Critical Discussion

Running head: PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy
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Author Note

PHILOSOPHY 1
Question:
Critically discuss the issue of rationalism in Descartes’ first three ‘Meditations’.
Rene Descartes is famous for his noteworthy contributions in the field of philosophy.
He is regarded as the father of modern philosophy ( Schwitzgebel & Moore, 2015).
His theories of meditation highlight clear and distinct ideas of his account of the
rational institution. Descartes, Meditations gives an extensive study in establishing
knowledge by deductions and rational intuition. The epistemological theory of
Descartes famous work, Meditations contributes largely to the theory of knowledge
(Hjørland, 2014). His three central claims in his theory of meditations are His
arguments on the existence of God, self and of physical objects (Rasmussen, 2016).
The theory also highlights his idea of the rational institution through the concept of
distinct and clear ideas.
a) How does Descartes show that he is rationalist?
According to Descartes, people can do anything just by thinking. The concept of
rationalism which explains that people can have knowledge without the experiences
of the real world totally relates to the thought process of Descartes. Descartes loved
the mathematical concepts due to its definite conclusions. He despised philosophy
since it does not follow the same rule. Descartes tried to portray a definite conclusion
in philosophy by the usage of systematic doubts. The systematic doubt plays a role in
finding definite answers in philosophy. Descartes is considered to be a rationalist
since he tends to find answers not on the basis of empirical evidence but on the basis
of rationality. By his meditations and wax theory, Descartes illustrates himself as a
rationalist.