Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on The Importance of the Painter Analogy. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 4 page paper looks at Descartes' first meditation and specifically at the relevance of the painter analogy. The dreaming argument is discussed in depth. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RT13_SA317Des.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
compelling? Descartes dreaming argument casts doubt on existence and whether one is dreaming or not. How can one tell? There is no way to tell. However, the painter analogy provides
a skeptical argument for the philosophers dreaming argument because it doubts that anyone can create something from nothing. Is there not validity to a dream? Every dream can connect with
something from reality. Therefore, the idea that dreams are fantasy is not true. The painter analogy must be understood in the context of the first meditation which includes the dreaming
argument. Descartes hypothesized that there are no true signs in life which can be distinguished from dreaming. Then, he explains that if there are no such signs, he
does not know if he is dreaming or not and finally, the last statement in the proof is a conclusion that says that he does not know whether or not
he is dreaming. Yet, it has been noted that Ren? Descartes never really doubted his existence when he questioned the true state (Honderich, 1995). He was, rather, trying to say
that human senses are in fact fallible (1995). Hence, the dreaming argument may or may not be taken literally. The example of the dreaming argument is simply one concept that
emanates from Descartes Meditations, but it has numerous theoretical implications. It has implications about epistemology. That is, if one does not know whether or not they are dreaming, how can
one know anything is real? It is a problem that many philosophers have grappled with. How does one discern whether or not he or she even exists? He answers his
question with the statement: "I think, therefore I am." This is of course the question that Descartes addresses and answers in the first meditation. Of course, one is still left
...