Rene Descartes and Ayer Philosophical Vision 
Descartes Vision for Philosophy
Rene Descartes presents his vision of philosophy on the doubt of sensible things where we doubt whether all the things that fall under our senses or imagination really exist and because we know that senses sometimes err and they can deceive us. In dreams, people seem to imagine innumerable objects that do not exist making it imprudent to trust too much in our senses and imagination. Additionally, Rene presents the doubt of mathematics in his philosophical knowledge of humanity. “From time to time I have realized that the sense deceptive at times, and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once”. He demonstrates people doubt on things they hold most certain hitherto deemed self-evident in the first place.
In his account, the second meditation, people possess free will from which we can assert our doubtfulness to avoid errors. This free will helps us be conscious of our freedom, and guard our thought against deceaption. His philosophical view demonstrates that we cannot doubt our existence. “…As I meditate this carefully, I see plainly that there are never any sure signs by means of which being awake is different from being asleep. The result is that I begin to feel dizzy and the feeling leads to an assumption that I may be asleep…”. During our doubt we can reject all the small doubts, we create in our mind and imagine their existence is false like the existence of God, our body or even our surrounding but we can never doubt that we are actually thing. This according to Rene is what is addressed as the first knowledge one acquires when they philosophize orderly “I think, therefore I am”.
Through understanding our thoughts, we are able to understand all that take place around and in us. Cogitatio help understands our thinking, dreams, and consciousness and act as an extension of our knowledge through helping us discover ourselves and many other things by simply contemplating on them. Descartes philosophical view also helps comprehend the nature and existence of God. It helps examine the nature and idea of God through the thought of His infinite perfection.
What Is It Supposed To Be Doing?
One of the greatest works of Descartes philosophical view is on skepticism and how it helps remove any uncertain things we experienced. From his arguments on doubt, it is clear that people can doubt everything just as he did and even questioned their existence. Descartes says that we might doubt our body but one thing for sure our mind exists. He puts it clear when he claims that, “…at last I have discovered it, thought, this that can’t be separated from me. Therefore I am, I exist that is certain,”. As for Descartes skepticism is defeated and people should eliminate it and use human knowledge to defeat it further.
It is clear that Descartes philosophy do not support use of senses and external world to know what exists and what does not. Descartes philosophy is a rational philosophy, philosophy that uses thoughts to bring ideas; therefore his philosophy is of rationalism rather than empiricism. For Descartes, we should not use external world and senses since we already have ideas that are independent of the external world, these are ideas called innate ideas. Descartes philosophy requires one to be a rational thinker that can overcome skepticism by the help of his innate idea rather than external world idea and senses.
Compare Descartes’ Vision for Philosophy with Ayers’
Descartes philosophical vision addresses the role of our consciousness in determining the existence of mind, body, and soul (dualism). In his description, he defines the conscious mind as the place where though reside. This is entirely different from Ayer vision on philosophy. According to Ayer, bases all his concepts on verification principle. This is the doctrine used to justify the cognitively meaningful of a proposition or matter when it is determined on the ground of its truth or false. Ayer thinking is totally different from that of Rene on the concept of believing what exist from what does not. In his line of vision, Ayers, present a logical positivism in explaining the existence of a proposition. He, exclaim the existence of proposition is either verifiable or falsifiable “…this initial understanding need not amount to anything more than an ability to tell…what sort of situation verifies the proposition…”. in his philosophical vision, it is agreeable to justify that Agre views something to be through justifying its position on truth or false. This, however, is completely difference from Descartes vision of philosophy. Rene emphasizes of skepticism or doubt of the mind and body. He acknowledges that human existence can only be proven from our thoughts and mind. Unlike Arge’s vision on true or false to demonstrate the existence of a proposition, Descartes, in his second meditation visions that what the mind present then that is actually what is in existence. He support thing through his argument on the existence of God and confirms His existence is just in our mind and that he can never indispence God’s existence. “…what is known of God is manifested in them….and everything can be shown by reason drawn exclusively from our mind”.
Ayer Thought on the Role of Philosophy
Ayer views the role of philosophy to help distinguish what is basically true and that which is false. He dismissed the idea of though or believes to justify the validity or existence of a proposition. According to him, a proposition can be treated on the ground of its falsity or truth. Philosophy primary role in the society is to help understand the claim that things are only real when can prove their metaphysics. Above all, philosophy according to Ayers helps in thinking about reality, perception and knowledge. It keeps supporting evidence of sense date to support the existence of metaphysic and help understand the external reality, perception or knowledge “…meditation has thrown me into such doubts that I can no longer ignore them, yet I fail to see how they are to be resolved…”. Ayers view the role of philosophy tool to help distinguish our imagination from reality through determining what is true and that which is false. This is important in bringing understanding to the state of things as they appear in reality rather than imagination.
Which Philosophical Vision Do You Prefer? Why?
The two philosophers hold different visions of philosophy that makes them distinct and brings the dissimilarity in their way of knowledge, truth, and perceptions. However, Rene Descartes vision of philosophy is ideal than that of Iyer. Descartes, present the relationship between the mind and body by presenting them as two distinct entities. His thinking helped understand our existence and interpreted the position of mind and soul in understanding the human value and position. He does an excellent job in his first and second meditation by exercise self-doubt to explain the existence of man and God. In his vision of philosophy, he recaps the power of our conscious mind as the essence of thought. His vision helps justify the idea of thought to hold significant value on establishing the existence of body and soul. The mind represents substance and therefore reality which helps understand the existence of God. His vision is, therefore, more valuable than of Iyer as it helps explain the existence of things beyond our imagination and will. Unlike Iyer who justifies proposition on their basis of truth or false.
All in all, it is evident that the two philosophers presented different thoughts and ideas in their philosophical vision, they still provide concrete understand on the existence of thing around human. The work of Rene Descartes is well acknowledged on proving the existence of human mind, body, and soul and also helps avoid skeptic.
