Descartes’ Project, Essay Example

In the first three discourses we become acquainted with Descartes’ method of doubt and analysis, which he uses to confront the skepticism idea. In order to achieve his goal, Descartes wished to separate the facts that he knew to be true from the facts that might have been doubted, so as to work with the doubtful facts by means of applying additional skeptical hypothesis to derive more knowledge and doubts about a particular issue. Moreover, after setting aside the hypothesis that cannot be doubted, he intended to question these suppositions with even stronger skeptical hypothesis.

I strongly believe that the theory in questions is able to bear fruit and is really helpful in identifying what is true and what is not. Apparently, even modern philosophers employ the method of doubt and analysis in their studies. Descartes separates the facts into faculties to better organize the process of dividing the hypothesis that can possibly be doubted when applying each additional skeptical hypothesis. “Thus as each skeptical hypothesis is found to leave something which cannot be doubted, a new and more powerful skeptical hypothesis is deployed to try to bring those things which formerly could not be doubted into doubt” (The Method of Doubt). Descartes moves from senses towards reason through imagination, providing examples of the visible stars and sun, logic and reasoning in mathematics and physics. The method works perfectly well when it needs to argue with the skeptical idea of knowing nothing, and breaks skepticism by means of stating that there are truths that simply cannot be doubted.

Descartes’ project of doubting every single fact through separating them into three different divisions can be applied to any single hypothesis and broken down into particles that can be doubted at the same time. “The project of finding a certain foundation on which to base all knowledge claims is one which has endured well into the twentieth century” (The Method of Doubt and the Attack on Skepticism).