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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper compares and contrasts the philosophy of Montaigne and Descartes. Specific examples given as well as quotes. Bibliograpy lists 2 sources.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_MBdesmon.rtf
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Rene Descartes strove to sort out what was real and what was unsubstantiated common thought. Montaigne, on the other hand, would seem to have been a puppet of the Church,
utilizing his considerable talent in bolstering the Churchs claims of authority in all matters of a divine and spiritual nature. If one were to choose which philosopher had purer motives
and was more sincere in his quest for knowledge, Descartes would be the logical choice. Descartes saw the problem inherent with reasoning. Therefore,
in order to test the reliability of his faculties he created the hyperbolic doubt. Hyperbolic doubt is when one sets aside the information gained by any sense that can be
proven to be unreliable in the circumstance. In other words, if something can go wrong with it, that sense is considered inconsequential to the final outcome. Descartes seems to arrive
at a point where he declares that there is no way to know for certain whether one is awake or asleep, that for any experience one may have, no matter
how real it seems, it would also be possible for a person to have the same experience while dreaming. Michel de Montaigne also believed that the human senses were of
little consequence when it came to the knowing the true nature of something. However, Montaigne seems to limit himself in that he focuses all of his philosophical work around the
Church. Because of this political nature, one has to suspect the motives, the and therefore, the conclusions that he has drawn. In many respects he reiterates what other philosophers have
said and then puts an ecumenical slant to it. "I realized that it was necessary, once in the course of my life, to demolish everything completely and start again
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