Senses

Reason as a way of knowing has both strengths and weaknesses. In this essay I will define the three area of reason and display their strengths and weaknesses.

The power of reason is divided into three areas. The first one is Rationalism, which comes from the Latin meaning “reason. It states that the reason plays the main role in understanding the world and obtaining knowledge, without regard to experience. Rationalism existed throughout the history of philosophy and is usually associated with three philosophers: RenÐ"© Descartes, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Baruch Spinoza. The Second is Reason, which has to be taken to be a subjective faculty to form concepts. It is the philosophy of intellect as opposed to sensibility. For Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza, it resulted in significant developments in mathematics. The final area is that reason as a faculty organises and structures out thought. If it is expressed though our possession of language then we use modus pones, tollens or morons. Modus pones simply means if X is true, then Y is true. X is true, therefore Y is true. Modus tollens is that if X is true, then Y is true. Y is false, therefore X is false. Modus morons is if X is true then Y is true. Y is true, so X is true.

With these three areas we are able to find the power of reason as a way of knowing.

Rationalism has its strengths and weaknesses. A strength is that we do not have to be uncertain that what we perceive is false. Descartes said that if we think we have correctly perceived something, we are spontaneously convinced that it is true. Therefore, we have nothing else to ask ourselves, if it is impossible for us to ever have any reason for doubting what we are convinced of. So, doubt is the contrast of certainty. As certainty increases, doubt decreases; conversely as doubt increases, my certainty decreases. (Descartes)

Furthermore rationalism does not produce first principles out of something else. The first principles are innate, existing from birth. We all have different characteristics, beliefs and have developed our rationalism through the circumstances and culture that have surrounded us. This will obviously lead to contradicting responses to situations.

However, rationalism has historically led to several contradictory conclusions in religion within theism, pantheism and atheism. Theism is the belief that there is one God who is the creator and ruler of the universe and the rationalism behind that is, we are all God’s creations. Pantheism, on the other hand, is the rationalism that regards God as identical with the material universe. Atheism stands alone in the rational that there is no God. With these three different rationalisms over God, we can see a weakness which could lead to opposing thoughts and conflict.

One of the strengths of reason is, it provides us with knowledge of a fundamental area, for example, mathematics. This knowledge is acquired through knowing and the accumulations of facts. This knowledge gives

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