Human Understanding Essay, Research Paper

In the history of human understanding, I couldn’t think of any person to study for a singular perspective of gaining knowledge through philosophy. I am glad that the class has been given two philosophers to compare and contrast their ideas. The subject of human understanding is a wide range of ideas to discuss, which can be quite complex, a feat I would never return to do. The two philosophers Rene Descartes and David Hume take the task of discussing human understanding and bring it to the terms in which people can better understand. I say this because in the common people take for granted what we learn to be the truth instead of questioning its existence to be true. The two philosophers Rene Descartes and David Hume expand on the ideas of Human understanding to bring it to a more personal light. In understand the method of mechanics with in oneself to gain concepts and ideas of what is true and what is false they explain what they have experienced and the knowledge that they have gained.

Rene Descartes a French philosopher has completed in his mind, a method in which to extract facts from life and to prove them true or false by mathematics or science. Descartes was a true believer in Science and mathematics, to him these ideas were clear and so distinct that they were beyond question. These ideas are what he wanted to bring to the reason for the mind to be as clear and distinct as an addition problem two plus two plus two equals four. To answer this concept would be to understand what drives a person to obtain knowledge and what mechanics. His mind went through to consider this information to be either true or false. In justifying whether something is true the answer should be if you could question if at any reason the answer could be false. AN example of this would simply be mathematics, for mathematics are clear answers we cannot question such as 2+2=4. The addition problem has four parts and when adding two parts to two parts you are left with four parts, in seeing this if a person did not know addition tables that makes the logic of mathematics still true. So in believing something is true and to be able to categorize in your mind this concept and its worth in truth it should be beyond and doubt.

Descartes broke what we common people assume of processing information into a mathematical formula. Where the information we receive plus its doubt of being true equals the answer of information being true and worth retaining as knowledge or if it should be forgotten.

Rene Descartes believed in the human mind and its ability to reason and this singular fact to him was what separated us humans from animals. Descartes also believed there were other parts of ones soul. Descartes believes that a person’s soul could be the reason for their greatness. The soul was the catalyst that drove the mind to become great. To say a personal would also be great.

David Hume the second philosopher did not see matters so clear and distinct when dealing with ones self. Hume on the other hand did not think the matter of understanding could be explained as a simple math problem. Instead Hume decided that mathematics was not even comparable to the concept of how we gain understand. Hume agreed that mathematics was clear and distinct answers, but something as complicated and complex as the human mind mathematics were incompatible.

Hume in his mind understand that there were to many other things that effected us humans in just one minute to change what we perceive and understand. This is why mathematics or science could not explain how we humans gain knowledge. Instead Hume wanted to study his understanding looking towards the things that effected him in daily life. Hume thinks that the mind has two perceptions of the concept of understanding. One is the ideas category were we humans actulkay come up with a thought or idea of our own. Impressions are the second perception of the mind, and effect us by what the second perception of the mind, and effects us by what we hear see, feel, hate, or desire. From the impression of what or body or mind feels this seems to trick the human mind into thinking it has freedom of thought. This is were standing has limited freedom, because in compounding impressions of the senses and experience all our ideas become just copies of what we have perceived before. Hume in realizing that all our ides are from precedent impressions claims we have no original ideas. Our, that an original idea tha one would have are so far a part from another that it would be impossible to realize it. To be an original idea no perceptions of impressions are linked to that single thought.