Descartes argued that the origin of knowledge is inborn
Self is considered as the individual identity and knowledge of whoever one is. Self is therefore considered as a personal evaluation and assessment to identify oneself and the subjections one goes through in trial of developing and identifying oneself. However, different philosophical ideas have been used in an attempt to classify oneself depending on identity. John Locke and Descartes came up with different ideas, which led to a different understanding of self. The ideas provided a distinct understanding of self in relation to the working of the brain and mind based on the concept of acquiring knowledge. In distinction, John Locke’s theory was based on the experience of consciousness as the contributive factor of knowledge, while Descartes argued that knowledge in inborn and hence everyone is born with the knowledge. However, their concepts were all aimed at assessing the origin of knowledge and the philosophical concept of understanding the common findings of their approach. They both focused on identifying the idea of knowledge, the certainty of the found knowledge, and the role played by the body, mind, and brain in relation to the acquisition of the knowledge.
Descartes argued that the origin of knowledge is inborn and therefore everybody acquires it after delivery. Descartes also believed in the contribution of the mind towards achieving the desired contribution to enhance the sense of self. Descartes further argues that the mind is responsible for stimulating passion, understanding, and enhances self-driven trait to individuals. He also claims that humanity is divided into two distinct parts demonstrating the actions of the body and those of the mind which work in collaboration to enhance identity and help one to understand him/herself. Besides, Descartes also believed that the mind does not determine the concept of body control by comparing the action with how machines can be controlled by ghosts (Descartes 4). Hence, he explored the relationship between body and mind with Cartesian dualism based on the origin of God. He argued that the idea od existence of God was inborn as the mind is always controlled by the consciousness which was developed after delivery. The mind and body are different in terms of chemical and physiological interactions between the two, which makes them distinct in their functions and fundamental premises they hold. He, therefore, explained his ideas based on monism features. Firstly, he argued based on the notion of physicalism, which stated that the mind is made of matter which organized in a specific manner while the concept of idealism claimed that matter does not exist in a realistic form as only thought exits in mind. However, he also argued that matter and mind are products of different essence which exists in different identical.
John Locke opposes the distinguishing idea of Descartes’s concept of knowledge. Locke suggests that a child is born without any knowledge, and therefore human mind develops knowledge from experience. “At birth, the human mind is a blank slate, or tabula rasa, and empty of ideas. We acquire knowledge from the information about the objects in the world that our senses bring to us” (Locke 3). Locke, therefore, acknowledges the contribution of the mind to control the body to adapt and acquire the knowledge being passed. Hence, he also emphasizes knowledge to be originating from experienced inheritance whereby people learn from others through socialization. Locke further argues in opposition to the concept of inborn knowledge and emphasizes that people are born without any knowledge and come up with the knowledge later, depending on their exposure to reflections and sensations. Locke also opposed the concept of consciousness of the mind claiming that knowledge and understanding are aimed at the psychological continuity by the existing matter. Politically, he also argued that all people were created to be subjected to the monarch system as an intuition from God.
In the first meditation, Descartes forms hypothetical information based on his dreams and doubts, which he states that “If I am dreaming/ deceived, then my beliefs are unreliable” (Descartes 6). In his meditation, he admits that God may not deceive us since He possesses the goodliness traits. Hence, he never relied on bodily actions as he relied on other measures. Descartes’s significant contribution is first meditation is to identify the doubt of the perception and sensations of the mind to illustrate why we should not fully believe in the power of perceptions. The perceptions are generally flawed with different misconceptions as the brain interprets different situations based on the current ideas running through the mind; hence it is not reliable.
The idea of self, brain, and mind is well explored based on both ideas. The ideas contributed to the imagination that self is very different from the brain and mind. Descartes argued that the mind is the central controller of our identity as it provides one with self-driven capabilities and passion for controlling the self. However, he also believed that the brain and mind could not control the body as it is governed by the power of identity (Milton 14). The idea mainly differed from Locke’s concept as he acknowledged the power of the brain to control the mental processes and consciousness, which contributed to the power of experience. Locke claims that the mind is responsible for meditation and presence occurrences for future remembrances, which leads to experience. Locke, therefore, emphasizes the existence of powerful ideas, which stimulates the experience of the mind and considers the brain as a self-evaluating organ which can be assessed based on the controlling system. The brain, therefore, controls the mind, which alters how the human body functions.
The views of the great philosophers, Locke, and Descartes are identical based on their aim of evaluation. They are both aimed at exploring the idea of personal identity, which is evaluated based on the concept of knowledge and thinking. They were both influenced by the concept of “natural light of reason” to come up with ideas on the origin of knowledge and provide credible evidence to shows how the knowledge and mind are interrelated. The ideas are all aimed at investigating the relationship between mind, body, and the brain to connect the essence of each body organ in regard to knowledge acquired.
The difference between both philosophers can be explored based on their views on the origin of knowledge. Descartes’ views of the origin of knowledge are religiously based. He argues that knowledge was acquired after birth, which was provided by God. he, therefore, acknowledges the existence of God even before the introduction of knowledge as God is the giver of knowledge (Ariew 4). On the other hand, Locke considers knowledge to be a result of experience which people or infants gain from other people. Hence, their interpretation of knowledge differs in terms of originality and their functionality in contemporary times. Descartes meditation is focused on doubting the self and the mind conception as it contains various flaws which also interrupt with the physical world.
I prefer Locke’s concept, which shows that the mind interprets knowledge as a result of experience. People are born without any knowledge. For instance, when infants are born, they are taken through cultural and society communication systems to learn and come up with relevant communications through represented training. The experience equips them with the knowledge of the language and what they are expected to do in a given society. The idea is based on day to day experiences which people go through and therefore enables them to learn different things which they can use in structuration and experience of the mind and body (Hamou 18). Hence, identity and diversity are continual. Therefore, identification and diversity are continually and consistently achieved through and consistently achieved through duality. The idea of duality is based on dual beginnings of existence as they must have had a common beginning or different starting points, which shows that the objects are the same.
I reject Descartes’ idea of consciousness because knowledge depends on the interpretation of the mind. Scientifically, the mind has neurons that control the body system and how it works. Hence, body control is guided by the brain in coordination with the brain organ. In addition, knowledge is acquired through learning and experience as the infants do not have any knowledge after their delivery, and hence they have to depend on other people to learn. Therefore, the idea has inapplicable concepts of knowledge and its originality, which cannot be traced to the constituents of matter within the brain system. Descartes’ view is, therefore, incredible to be used as the supporting concept of knowledge and measure of identity.
Work Cited
Ariew, Roger. Descartes and the last scholastics. Cornell University Press, 2019: 4
Descartes, Rene. “Meditations I: Of The Things of Which We May Doubt.” Meditations on first philosophy (1901).
Hamou, Philippe. “Locke and Descartes on Selves and Thinking Substances.” Locke and Cartesian Philosophy (2018): 18
Locke, John. “Chapter XXVII: Of identity and diversity.” An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (2005).
Milton, J. R. “Locke, and Descartes.” Locke and Cartesian Philosophy (2018): 14