Position Paper on Reality for Mathematician- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about thePosition Paper on Reality for Mathematician. Answer: Reality, in the colloquial usage of the term, refers to the state of things that have a physical existence. Philosophers over the years have tried to explain the concept in a varied number of ways from different points of view. In the following paper is attempted a definition of reality that is based on the first and second meditations of Descartes. Rene Descartes, known as the father of modern Western philosophy, was a French philosopher, scientist and mathematician. One of his most celebrated texts, Meditations on First Philosophy published in the year 1641 in Latin, deals with the skeptic analysis of the term reality. The philosopher then tries to establish the beliefs that can be taken to be known with certainty. In the first of the six meditations, is found that the meditator discards all the beliefs that he had faith on during his lifespan till that particular time. The person tries to rebuild his beliefs, this time basing them on more definite arguments (Descartes 2013). In the second meditation, Descartes presents the concept of representationalism. According to the philosopher, a person can reach out to the world in an indirect manner through his own world of ideas, that include all that the mind contains ranging from perceptions, memories and images to beliefs, decisions, intentions and so on. The second meditation con tains the famous theory of Cogito Ergo Sum which translates into I think therefore I am and the wax argument (Hasdan 2017). The theory of Descartes may be objected from a number of varied viewpoints. The theory propounded by the philosopher faces objections regarding the issue of not being able to distinguish between the state of wakefulness and dreams. According to another famous philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, Descartes had identified thinking or intellect with the thing which understands (Adams 2014). Hobbes argues that in the famous argument of Descartes, cogito ergo sum which translates into I think therefore I am [existent], the second part of the proposition depends on the knowledge of the first proposition (Mori 2012). It may be observed that Hobbes had been appearing incoherent in the arguments against the theories of Descartes and is found misquoting them as well. Descartes responds in short replies to all these objections in a rather rude or curt manner. Descartes had replied to the first objection of Hobbes saying that the philosopher had never claimed to introduce novelties with the use of the dream theories, instead it was used to help prepare the minds of the readers for the study of intellectual things. The philosopher, in a response to Hobbess second objection by saying that he had not mentioned the act of understanding to be similar to the thing which understands. In lieu of the discussion, it may be said that Descartes theory of skepticism leads to formation of a mind that questions everything inclusive of its own existence. Reality is inclusive of both the present and the past and does not depend on the comprehensibility and observability of the matter. It does not take into consideration the states in which things might have been imagined or appeared. References Descartes, R., 2013.Meditations on first philosophy. Broadview Press. Hasdan, L.E., 2017. compos mentis.compos mentis, p.35. Adams, M.P., 2014. The wax and the mechanical mind: Reexamining Hobbes's objections to Descartes's Meditations.British Journal for the History of Philosophy,22(3), pp.403-424. Mori, G., 2012. Hobbes, Descartes, and ideas: A secret debate.Journal of the History of Philosophy,50(2), pp.197-212.