Descartes And John Locke s Views On Consciousness, Self,...

Seventeenth century philosophers Renà © Descartes and John Locke endeavored to question the views on consciousness, self, and personal identity. They examined belief in God, the certainty of knowledge, and the role of mind and body. The goal of this paper is to deliberate John Locke’s and Renà © Descartes views on â€Å"self† and personal identity and how each come to examine how knowledge is captured. Renà © Descartes and John Locke both present arguments that are rational in the discussion of consciousness, self, and personal identity, but each lack conclusive evidence that would provide the proof necessary to believe one or the other philosophies are true. Renà © Descartes examined our very existence and our perceptions of truth. He debated the†¦show more content†¦Locke rationalizes, an older person may not remember their â€Å"self† as young child, but they have memories from when they were middle-aged. When they were middle-aged, they remember their â€Å"self† as a young child, therefore their consciousness can be linked. One way in which Descartes and Locke differ is their opinions of how knowledge is attained. Descartes ascertained that you could only gain knowledge through reasoning and not reasoning and senses together. He concluded that senses can deceive us and should not be trusted. Descartes states, â€Å"I will suppose, then, that everything I see is fictitious. I will believe that my memory tells me nothing but lies. I have no senses. Body, shape, extension, movement and place are illusions. So what remains true? Perhaps just the one fact that nothing is certain!† (Descartes). Descartes identified the mind as a thinking substance and bodies as material substances. Descartes is a rationalist, as he believed knowledge could be gained without experiencing it in the real world. Conversely, Locke felt that individuals gained knowledge through real world experiences. 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