Philosophy: William James and Descartes on Belief and Knowledge

This article discusses the views of William James and Descartes on belief and knowledge. It explores James's thesis on the will to believe and empiricism, and Descartes's view on the possibility of knowledge through doubt.

Running head: PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Main Thesis of James..........................................................................................................2
Descartes’s view on possibility of knowledge.....................................................................3
Works Cited.........................................................................................................................4

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Main Thesis of James
William James in the article entitled “The Will to Believe” discusses the fact that the
belief of a person is highly dependent on the will of the person to develop a belief on the subject.
The author further states that the believes that are encouraged by the human beings tend to be
based on the will of the person concerned in the development of the belief. The hypothesis on the
part of the scholar stated that the person would demonstrate the willingness in order to act in an
irrevocable manner. The author further states that there exists a tendency of developing a belief
on the part of the people concerned whenever they are faced with the situations wherein they
have to demonstrate a willingness on their part for taking action on the given area (James). The
author further highlights the psychology of the human opinion as is demonstrated while
undertaking a decision. This is in turn related to the concept of empiricism. The concept of
empiricism states that every concept on the part of the individual has roots in experiences that are
undertaken by the individual. The theory of empiricism states that the concepts and the actions
are highly dependent on the various experiences that can be useful in the justification of the
actions and the propositions that have been undertaken by the concerned individual
(Britannica.com). The empiricist had confirmed the existence of the apriori propositions but
however tends to deny the apriori concepts that are presented through the arguments.

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Descartes’s view on possibility of knowledge
The major issues that are discussed by Descartes in his famous “Meditations on the First
Philosophy” discusses that the existence of the activities and the factors on the basis of the
beliefs that are held by the individual. The philosopher stated that the knowledge of an individual
is derived from the experiences that is gained by the individual in discussion. The philosophical
thinker further stated that the beliefs that are implored by the individual are known to be attained
through the implementation of several doubts that help in the development of the proper belief in
the given person. The doubts as implemented by the concerned author arise from the need to
clarify the knowledge as well as testify the authenticity of the knowledge that is identified by the
concerned individual (Descartes). Descartes was known to be a foundational epistemologist. This
implied that according to the philosopher, the doubt on the basic matters helped in the attainment
of knowledge on the given matters. The major argument that have been stated by Descartes
reveals that the knowledge of the individuals is attained on the basis of the clearance of the
doubts that are highlighted in the psyche of the individual. The philosopher states that the
individual should attempt the conception of the knowledge on the solid ground attained through
the clarification of the doubts as has arisen in the minds of the individual (Britannica.com). This
is in agreement with the philosophy of Cogito ergo sum as have been stated by Descartes.

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Works Cited
Britannica.com. "Empiricism | Philosophy". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/empiricism. Accessed 13 July 2019.
Britannica.com. "Rationalism - Epistemological Rationalism In Modern
Philosophies". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/rationalism/Epistemological-rationalism-in-modern-
philosophies. Accessed 13 July 2019.
Descartes, René. Descartes: Meditations on first philosophy: With selections from the objections
and replies. Cambridge University Press, 2017.
James, William. The will to believe and other essays in popular philosophy. Vol. 6. Harvard
University Press, 1979.