Philosophical Dictionary

Existence is everything and nothing. How do we know we exist? Or even better, how do we know that other people exist? Something so basic as existence should be obvious, but is it really?  We don’t tend to wonder if...

Join us as we explore Descartes's philosophical revolution which is listed amongst the likes of Newton and Copernicus. Descartes, a Rationalist, sought to rebuild knowledge on the foundation of reason alone, famously using his method of Cartesian Doubt to discard uncertain beliefs making him an extremist Socratic reincarnation. We delve into his Meditations 6, particularly his exploration of the mind-body problem, where he argued for the distinct, yet interacting, substances of mind (res cogitans) and body (res extensa). We also look at criticisms of Descartes’ Dualism by figures like Princess Elizabeth and Gilbert Ryle, who mockingly called it the “Dogma of the Ghost in the Machine.” 

Read more about the philosophical principle of methodological doubt and learn why it is still relevant today.