How can a person acquire knowledge-which is the origin of knowledge

Type IV Essay-First Term
Rationalism and Empiricism
Nicolas Calderon
11a
November 8th/2010
Colegio Bennett
Cali,Colombia

• What is the source of knowledge?
• How can a person acquire knowledge?

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, origin and scope of knowledge. Subsequently to these words, you'll find both the problems of the origin of knowledgeas well as the process to obtain it along with the arguments posed by five renowned philosophers in order to solve the aforementioned problems. Moreover, these arguments are seen from both the empiricist and the rationalist perspectives, with the sole purpose of merging their thoughts into one likely argument or solution to the problem of knowledge.

In the rationalist currents of thought, "itis believed that nothing may be said with certainty unless we first ground our beliefs on an epistemological theory that offers the required degree on indomitability"1. Rene Descartes offers his own view of the source of knowledge. His starting point to establish a sense of certainty on a truthful argument is doubt. His sole purpose is to establish a method to lead the philosopher out of doubt,and his method is to take everything that seems doubtful and throw it out, until he reaches a point in which he finds an idea or "thinking substance".

"Those long chains compose of very simple and easy reasoning, (…), had given me occasion to suppose that all the things which can fall under the human knowledge are interconnected in the same way"2. Descartes argues that the only way to achieveknowledge os through deduction which is a form of reasoning, and by discarding what is not clear and is doubtful in the mind. Now, true knowledge is also defined under a second condition, which is that it must also be indefeasible, that is that there isn't an argument that can shake its truth. Finally, since knowledge must be certain and indefeasible, and the bedrock or foundation from which allthe rest of things that fall under the human knowledge or understanding derive from, the only way to establish these foundations is through deductive reasoning. Firstly, you clear your mind from every possible doubt, and secondly you establish a universal truth or argument which which is an undeniable truth. Thus, this universal truth or statement allows us to create other knowledge in our minds.The second argument that I'm going to discuss is how, according to Descartes, a person can acquire knowledge of the external world. Descartes believed in a substance dualism, mind and body, he says that these two are innate concepts, that they must exist in order for knowledge to be attainable. The essences of these innate ideas are thinking and extension respectively. However, we can onlyhave a certain and indefeasible knowledge of our minds, and the way to obtain such knowledge from the extensive objects in the "outer world" is through God, a non-deceiver God. He believes that our sensations from these objects are involuntary because we don't will our senses into action.

P1"Sensations come to me involuntarily
P2 Therefore, sensations are caused by something other than me,
CHence, there exists something external to my mind.3"

With this argument, Descartes goes on to prove the existence of the external world. In spite of that, he also proves that nothing can be in the mind that a person is not aware of. hence, the existence of a non-deceiving God who is the cause of the external world and presents its existence and sensations directly to men by virtue of our mindsand bodies.

Spinoza was also a rationalist , he saved most of Descartes' work, however, aside from Descartes which was a substance dualist, Spinoza believed in a substance monism. Descartes thought that the two main substances in the world were the mind and body. Anyhow, Spinoza states that there is only one substance which is God, "(…) a being absolutely infinite-that is, a substance...