Mind and the World (Part One), The
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about Immanuel Kant's views regarding the relationship between the mind and the world. Professor Toulmin explains that it was Kant who originated the idea that our understanding of the world is "...at least as much ...
Mind and the World (Part Two), The
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin continues his exploration of the relationship between the mind and the world. He contends that while eighty percent of the way we see the world is based on the way the world present itself to us, the other twenty percent ...
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Descartes' Corpuscular Theory
Descartes wants to prove that knowledge of the physical world can be acquired through reason, an explanation that eventually relies on the corpuscular or atomistic theory. In this theory, all matter is made of corpuscles, far too small to see, with ...
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Reason, the Source of Knowledge
Seventeenth century rationalists like Descartes and Leibniz believe that knowledge comes from reason alone. It is not necessary to see examples in the physical world;truth can be grasped entirely in the mind. This is a period in which science is mak...
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Theory of Innate Ideas, The
Rationalists believe in innate ideas, ideas that are present in the mind from birth. The concept had a long history beginning with Plato in the 4th century B.C.E. The difficulties and discoveries characteristic of Athens during this period are simil...
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Sentiment of Rationality
In the 17th century, experimental sciences are in their infancy. As they have grown, they have demonstrated that much of our knowledge of the world comes through sense observation. But the basic question remains about whether all knowledge depends o...
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Religious Conviction of Rationalists
Major rationalists share a profound religious conviction. They believe that God created the universe with an underlying order that can be grasped through the power of reason. Both Descartes and Leibniz take the view that the human mind is made in th...
Coherence in the Sciences
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about coherence and science, observing that, while people generally assume that coherence is a virtue in the sciences, there are some problems with this position. The primary difficulty, Professor Toulmin argues, is...
Descartes and the Greeks (Part One)
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin draws parallels between Descartes and Plato, arguing that both lived in a perilous time during which they tried to demonstrate "... in a quasi-mathematical way that we have a system of ideas which carry a certainty on the...
Descartes and the Greeks (Part Two)
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about the origins of differing branches of philosophy. On the one hand, Professor Toulmin notes, there have been those like Plato and Descartes, who have wanted theoretical certainty above all else. On the other han...