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...
Behaviorism, Identity Theory and Functionalism
Philosopher John Searle explores various perspectives on the mind which he believes are all flawed, including behaviorism and identity theory, then discusses functionalism, which he says is essentially a combination of the other two. According to fu...
Brain in a Vat (Part 2)
Philosopher Hilary Putnam discusses problems with using any form of the brain in a vat argument for skeptical purposes. The biggest problem he cites is that the brain in a vat argument itself requires that many of our assumptions concerning the laws...
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...
Pragmatism, Language and Reality
Philosopher Richard Rorty explores the link between language and reality, suggesting that no one language is any closer to reality than any other. Whether it's the language of poetry, the language of physics, the language of theology or any other la...
Turning Away From Functionalism
Philosopher Hilary Putnam talks about turning away from his earlier view of functionalism, to another perspective which recognizes the impact and significance of experience and one's social environment on the way one thinks.
Experience and Innate Ideas
Philosopher Ian Hacking talks about the notion of innate ideas, making reference to such historical figures as Descartes, Leibniz, Locke and Michelangelo. He notes that while experience produces different ideas in people, those ideas are formed on w...
Skepticism
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about the difference between the modern use of the term "skepticism" and the way the word was used by the Greeks, as well as by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Nowadays, Professor Toulmin explains, the word is used to mean ref...
Self in Historical Context (Part One), The
Philosopher Charles Taylor talks about the ways in which the concept of "the self" has changed over time. He begins by talking about Plato and then moves through other major philosophers, including Augustine and Descartes, pointing out that there ha...