Descartes, Hobbes, and Pascal Essay examples - 1033 Words

Descartes, Hobbes, and Pascal During the 17th and 18th century, religion, religious beliefs and most of all the religious leaders played a very influential role in the direction of politics. This was also a time when religion and politics played a large role in the direction of what was accepted as a result of the new discoveries in the natural sciences and in a time when there were some very influential writers, philosophers, scientists and mathematicians. At the time, these people were considered to be very radical and revolutionary because of some of their beliefs and this often times led them to be highly scrutinized, criticized and sometimes even punished by the legal system. Now in the 21st century, these views that†¦show more content†¦In it, Descartes talks about the existence of the human beings and the existence of God. He gets himself to doubt everything and then assumes that doubt does exist. That is how he reaches to the conclusion of â€Å"Cogito Ergo Sum†, which means, â€Å" I think, therefore I am†. He realizes that if he can think, then he also exists, and he uses this also to prove the existence of God. He says that the body and the mind are two separate entities and the only thing that unites them is God. Descartes was very flattered to know how much people appreciate his writings and he assured that he probably would have had a better time with the church nowadays because they are more open minded. In the past, although Descartes believed in God, the Church did not like him a lot and that really depressed him. He realized that nowadays, the Church is not as strict as before because science has taken total control over the people and now is much more respected than before. As we can see, as time has gone by, he continues, science has divorced from the church and it seems that soon it will become like a separate religion because he was amazed how much people believe in all of the science’s claims. The next author that will talk about is Thomas Hobbes. As we all know, he was the writer of the famous Leviathan, which was written in England on 1651. In his writing, he presents us a bleak picture of human beings in theShow MoreRelatedCause and Effect Essay1031 Words   |  5 PagesXIV [pic] d. Charles V status: correct (1.0) correct: c your answer: c feedback: Correct. [pic] 6 This Italian scientist designed and built his own telescope to study the phases of Venus. [pic] a. Galileo [pic] b. Pascal [pic] c. Descartes [pic] d. Copernicus status: correct (1.0) correct: a your answer: a feedback: Correct. [pic] 7 This author wrote Paradise Lost, intending to justify the ways of God to men. [pic] a. Cranshaw [pic] b. Milton Read MoreScientific Revolution Summary Essay1014 Words   |  5 Pagesthat science’s practical purpose was human improvement, and increased the support for science throughout Europe. Then, Renà © Descartes created a scientific method that relied on deduction rather than empirical observation. In 1637 Descartes published Discourse on Method, which advocated thought based on math and divided things into 2 categories, mind and body. 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His discoveries led the way for Thomas Hobbes who also had an interest in science and motion; he used Galileo’s theories of believing â€Å"that motion is the natural state of bodies† (Mazlish 115). When William Harvey discovered and documented that the heart was responsible for pumping blood through the body via â€Å"a series of tubes, arteries, and veins equipped with valves† (Mazlish 115). Hobbes used this information and began â€Å"to think of the human body as a mechanicalRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pagesorigin of knowledge, the nature of the mind and its relation to the body, the implications of the new natural sciences for free will and God, and the emergence of a secular basis for moral and political philosophy. Canonical figures include Hobbes, Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Leibniz, Berkeley, Rousseau, Hume, and Kant.[10] Chronologically, this era spans the 17th and 18th centuries, and is generally considered to end with Kants systematic attempt to reconcile Newtonian physics with traditional metaphysicalRead MoreDavid Humes Theory of Ethics Essay1675 Words   |  7 PagesBritish empiricists, along with Hobbes and Locke, and lived near the end of the Enlightenment. The Catholic Church was losing its control over science, politics and philosophy and the Aristotelian world view was being swallowed up by a more mechanistic viewpoint. Galileo found the theory provided by Copernicus to be correct, that our earth was not the center of everything, but the celestial bodies including the earth circled the sun. Mathematicians abounded. 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