Meditations on False Philosophy
René Descartes, also known as Cartesius, is hailed as the founder of Western Philosophy by modern thinkers and followers alike. In one of his most famous works entitled Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes reveals his philosophical ideas through the main character, the meditator. The meditator reflects upon that which it knows to realize that in order to accurately obtain truth one must forget all of its pre-conceived notions through methodological doubt. Understanding this concept, the meditator hopes to find knowledge within the most basic truths, building upon these truths with others until it has come to a state of full awareness. This full sense of awareness is characterized by the understanding of the existence or non-existence of itself, God, and the material world which it perceives through its senses. In Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes' proof of the existence of God lacks sufficient supporting evidence and relies on the willingness of the reader to make a "leap of faith" in order to accept his claims.
At the beginning of this work, the meditator comes to the conclusion that by doubting all ideas, thoughts, and beliefs that are not grounded in absolute and inherent truth, it can create a foundation of pure truth upon which to build its knowledge. The meditator then hopes to obtain full awareness of itself, God, and the world around it by constructing its knowledge upon this foundation of truth. Next, the meditator proves its own existence upon the grounds that it doubts its existence, its doubt is thought, and one can only think if one exists; therefore the meditator must exist. The meditator's existence, now, is that of a purely thinking entity or "cogito". ...