Descarte`s Cartesian Doubt Essays - Philosophical Methodology

Descarte`s Cartesian Doubt In his first meditation, Descartes sets out with amazing clarity and persistence to clear himself of every false idea that he has acquired previous to this, and determine what he truly knows. To rid him of these "rotten apples" he has developed a method of doubt with a goal to construct a set of beliefs on foundations which are indubitable. On these foundations, Descartes applies three levels of skepticism, which in turn, generate three levels at which our thoughts may be deceived by error. Descartes states quite explicitly in the synopsis, that we can doubt all things which are material as long as "we have no foundations for the sciences other than those which we have had up till now"(synopsis:12). This skepticism also implies that doubt can free us from prejudices, enabling the mind to escape the deception of the senses, and possibly discover a truth which is beyond doubt. The first and main deception in Descartes opinion has evolved from sense perception "What ever I have up till now accepted as most true I have acquired either from the senses or through the sense. But from time to time I have found that the senses deceive, and it is prudent never to trust completely those who have deceived us even once"(1:18[13]). At the root of our beliefs, Descartes argues, lie the experiences we gain from our senses, because these are sometimes mistaken, as in the case of mirages or objects which appear small in the distance, and because of this he will now forfeit all of his most reliable information . More importantly it may be to follow in the steps of Plato and require knowledge that is certain and absolute ( Prado 1992 ). This argument consists of four main premises: 1. All that he has accepted as true up to this point, he has acquired by the senses or Cartesian Doubt 3 through the senses; 2. but on occasion these senses have been deceptive. 3. It is wise not to trust anything that has been deceiving in the past 4. Therefore, it is possible to be mistaken about everything. In premise one his beliefs are derived from the senses, such as he sees that he has a paper in his hand and concludes that it is a paper, and what is meant by through the senses, is that his beliefs may have been based on others sense experience. All Descartes requires for the second premise is the possibility that he may have been deceived, for if he cannot decide which is wrong, than he must not have any knowledge. This leads to the third premise where it seems at least reasonable to assume, that if one has been deceived previously, there is no absolute assurance that it is presently correct. Therefore, there is a chance of being deceived about everything. But many critics will argue that several of these false percepts can be corrected by means of alternative senses, such as he bent stick in water example. Although our sight may be tricked into thinking that the mirage exists, by using the sense of touch we can correct this falseness, and uncover what truly exists. Descartes does retreat, and assess the damage from his first level by saying, "there are many other beliefs about which doubt is quite impossible, even though they are derived from the senses-for example, that I am here, sitting by the fire, wearing a winter dressing gown.." (1:18[12]). Here even he objects to the validity of his argument, even if he could be deceived about anything he perceives, this does not mean that he is deceived about everything. Just because his senses are unreliable at times is not proof enough that everything in the world is false (Williams 1991). In addition to being delusional, Descartes believes we can be tricked by madness or insanity. Since those who are insane may interpret things detached from reality by means of their senses, " how could it be denied that these hands or this whole body are mine? Unless perhaps I were to liken myself to madmen, whose brains are so damaged by the persistent vapours of melancholia" (1:19 [13]), they in fact believe these percepts to be true. Though Descartes does go on to say "such people are insane, and I would be thought equally mad if I took anything from them as a model for myself", and continues by likening the dreams he has to the experiences a madman faces when awake. From here Descartes makes a stronger argument

Simple Illustrations Yield Powerful Messages

Simple Illustrations Yield Powerful Messages The advertisement, â€Å"SAVE WATER, SAVE LIFE†, is comprised of a dripping water tap connected to a quarter-filled, oval-shaped fish bowl. Within the fish bowl, an orange fish nervously stares at the dripping water tap. The color scheme of the ad is a combination of light and dark greys, yet the orange fish disrupts the color scheme which makes the fish the focal point of the ad.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Simple Illustrations Yield Powerful Messages specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The fish bowl with the dripping tap only covers about one-third of the ad, and the remaining portion of the ad is filled with grey which makes the advertisement very simple, but the simplicity of the illustration bears a powerful message. The advertisement, â€Å"SAVE WATER, SAVE LIFE†, makes an attempt to persuade a diverse audience to conserve water. In my opinion, the ad successfully persuades a broad audience becau se the subject matter and techniques used in the ad allow the audience identify with the message. Specifically, the contrast of color, the usage of the fish, and the shape of the tank are the tools that effectively persuade audience into identifying with the message of the ad. The following will illustrate how the tools in the advertisement are effective in conveying the message of the ad. One of the aspects of the advertisement that accentuates the message is the contrast of color. The ad consists of varying shades of gray in the background and the orange color of the fish in the foreground. In my opinion, the author chose shades of gray in the background in order to draw attention to the fish which is the subject matter of the ad. Personally, when I saw the ad my eyes went straight to the orange fish because of the gray background. If there were more colors used in the ad, they would draw attention away from the fish, thus, distracting the audience from the message. Using simple c olor schemes in the background of the advertisement also accentuates the severity of the topic (Bedan 7). The grays in the background create a somber feeling in the audience because gray is a color that represents serious subject matter. The somber feeling of the audience allows them to realize the severity of the topic being discussed in the ad. Although the color scheme of the advertisement was simple, the simple colors enhanced the message of water conservation for the audience. The advertisement appeals to a varied audience because of the indirect human appeal (Langford 42) created by the manner of the orange fish. The orange fish is humanized by the panic expressed by the stare of the fish at the dripping water tap because all humans have felt panic which allows for a varied audience to identify with the plight of the orange fish.Advertising Looking for essay on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The o range fish also appeals to a varied audience because the fish does not represent a particular type of person. No race, gender, age, or career is specified in the ad because of the orange fish being the subject matter. Since no particular division of people is targeted, the ad can reach out to a variety of people. A farmer or a lawyer will be compelled to conserve water due to the ad not singling out a particular group of people. Overall, the author’s usage of the clever usage of the orange fish draws a diverse audience because the manner of the fish humanizes the fish and the subject matter of the fish allows different groups of people to identify with the fish which helps to effectively convey the message of the ad. Another way the author conveys the message of water conservation to a diverse audience is through the usage of a round fish bowl as the habitat of the orange fish. A broad audience can identify with the habitat of the orange fish because the fish bowl is round li ke earthly habitat of the audience. The constant dripping of water out of the fish bowl that is already a quarter-full can be compared to the wastage of water on earth as a whole which amplifies the message of water conservation in the ad. No matter what walk of life a member from the audience may come from, all of the audience share earth as their home, and in some way identify with water being an important natural resource. The tank only being a quarter-full also amplifies the message of the ad because the little water in the tank illustrates how severe the water situation is on earth. If the tank were to be almost full, the audience would not feel the urgency and severity of the message. The previous information illustrates how the shape of the tank allows the audience to identify with the message of the ad. Ultimately, the techniques mentioned above come together to bring an important issue to a diverse group of people by using what the audience has in common with one another. T he gray color scheme in the background allow for the focus (Bedan 4) to be on the orange fish in the bowl. The panic in the fish illustrated by the stare at the dripping tap humanizes the fish and allows a diverse group to identify with the manner of the fish because all humans can identify with the feeling of panic, and the fish does not target a particular race or gender.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Simple Illustrations Yield Powerful Messages specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The shape of the fish bowl allows for a diverse audience to identify because the bowl is very similar to earth. The author uses the techniques mentioned to make the audience identify with the ad which makes conveying the message of water conservation more effective because the audience can apply the aspects to the ad to their individual lives. Berdan, Robert. (2004). Composition and the elements of visual design. Photo Composition Articl es, 20 January, 2004. Web. Langford, Michael. The Master Guide to Photography. New York: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 1982. Print.