Comment on Hume or Kant’s views of causality. Do you think that there is such a thing as a necessary law of nature?
Immanuel Kant is a German philosopher who came up with a theory on knowledge. One of the areas he tackled was causality. The views of Kant on causality are based on metaphysics. This is how people are able to tell whether some things are beyond our experience. According to Kant, there are two ways of knowing this: either through logical or synthetic means. For instance, Mathematics is both logical and synthetic. This also applies to many other phenomena as well. The mind is always building impressions so that it can know and understand its environment. In fact, the impressions are already set. These impressions are not initiated by the world they come from within an individual. An individual’s perspective of the world comes because of what a person mind has shown him or her. A person understanding of the causality, numbers and all other constant phenomena people experience are instances of how one’s senses are determined by the mind.
What people see can be said to be both real and what the mind perceives it to be. Imagining processes ones impressions with understanding various concepts. This is done in a harmonious way. The result is having confidence in reality in oneself and the rest of the world. Kant laid down the principles by which we arrive at them. Kant defines causality to be level of understanding everything we see or expect to have a cause. For example, a person would identify a speeding vehicle at different points along a freeway. These would be progressive positions and not just any points, heading in the same direction. The world would only be a whole if everyone understands and blends with something beyond him or her.
Kant’s views of causality were continued in 1788. He modified this theory by adding beliefs. These include soul immortality, the existence of God, and having the freedom of will. He said that these beliefs are important to us and cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, it was difficult or almost impossible to prove the existence of these beliefs. In his other writings, he disputes the fact that people should accept and act as if morals, justice, God, our duties and responsibilities to in this world are reality although no one can prove them yet.
It would be true to say that there exist laws of nature. There is a distinctive difference between laws of science and laws of nature. The laws of nature have the following characteristics: Laws of nature have accurate truth and not rational truth. For example, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. This is factual but it is logical to say that all natural numbers can be multiplied by two. Laws of nature are constant in all eras and time. For example, the laws that existed when the world began still exist even today. They do not have names that are proper nouns. They have general names. Other important properties of laws of nature are they are universal. They exist in the whole world.
There are two contrasting theories of nature laws. One of them is called the Regularity Theory. It state that nature laws are statements about the things that are in uniform or regular in this world. They are mostly definitions of the world is. The other theory is the Necessitarian Theory; it states that nature laws are the guidelines, which administer the phenomena that exist naturally in the world. In other words, the natural world does according to the nature laws. The most vital ramifications of each theory are whether the world is a coincidental or being directed by specific nature laws. Each side takes a different stance on each of these issues, and to adopt either theory is to give up one or more strong beliefs about the nature of the world. Laws of nature do exist whether people believe in them r not. Some people would doubt them because they cannot identify them therefore they think that they do not exist.
In what ways did Descartes’ philosophic thoughts engender a revolution in Philosophy? Do you think that his philosophic contributions are as significant as intellectual historians would have us to believe?
Descartes has been crowned as the first philosopher in the world of modernity. He became popular because of making a vital relation between geometry and algebra. This invention has made it possible to solve geometrical problems using equations in algebra. He is also famous for bringing about new concept of matter, which takes into account the physical phenomena by describing it mechanically. Descartes is a writer as well, who comes up with several publications that talk about possibility of the sciences. They are given a philosophical basis.
Using the basics laid by Newton and Leibniz, Descartes developed the calculus in Mathematics. He used infinitesimal calculus on the tangent line problem. This remarked the evolution of that category of modern Mathematics. He has also contributed to the theory of knowledge, and described it as the persuasion of a reason that surpasses every other. Therefore, no other stronger reason can out do it. Descartes tries to get to a number of important principles that a person can know the truth without doubt. For him to get to this, he uses a method called hyperbolical/metaphysical doubt, also known as methodological skepticism. This method turns down any idea worth doubting, and then establishes them again, to create a strong foundation for true knowledge.
Originally, Descartes had only one principle that thought exists. A thought cannot be separated from a person. This means that people do exist. If one thinks then he or she exists.
Descartes said that he is very sure that he exists because he can think. He comments that he exists and knows his body by the use of senses since this has been proven unreliable. He concluded that he knows his existence because he thinks. Therefore, thinking is all the activities that a person is conscious of.
Rene Descarte’s contribution to modern philosophy has brought significant change because he has helped to develop understanding of concepts that are used even in this modern day. People are able to understand themselves better. H e has also been of great help to students and teachers because he developed some of the Mathematics topics that are considered challenging. Students can understand and apply in an easier way. This does not only benefit the students and scholars, it also helps the engineers. All engineers apply Physics and Mathematics in their work. Due to the revolution does to some branches of this subject; engineers are able to work more effectively.
This modern philosopher was known to be a fast thinker because he came up with outlines of the developments he made the sciences. People have been able to understand more about themselves, their existence and the theory of knowledge. Other philosopher have borrowed a leaf from Descarte’s finding and conclusion and developed philosophy to be more modern. He provided the basics for modern philosophy so that other younger philosopher would continue the development just like the way he revolutionized the old concepts.
Apart from developing science and Mathematics concepts, Rene was a strong Catholic believer. Scholars disagreed about this philosopher’s religious beliefs. According to Descartes, he was a Catholic believer and added that one of his publications was to protect the faith of the Christians. Unfortunately, he was accused of having atheist beliefs but he denied the allegations. Nevertheless, he does not stop being a great man that left behind a great legacy.