Different people analyze different situations differently and reach to different conclusions. In supporting his idea he further argued that the senses should not be trusted because people get fooled by their sense. This is due to the reason that many variables affect a person's way of looking and perceiving an event. That's why different people experience same event in different ways.
I do agree with Descartes on this point but at the same time it is also true that majority of the people look at a particular situation in a similar way and reach to similar accurate conclusions. For instance, considering the example of road accident again, if 20 persons watch an accident then majority of them can point out who was responsible for the accident. All of these people view same situation from their own perspective but reach to almost similar conclusion. Therefore it cannot be said that the senses completely fool the person and give him/her wrong information.
Descartes was a complete rationalist and I do not totally agree with him because I believe that a lot can learn from observation and experience. The interpretation of situations or events from mind is another variable but cannot be taken the way Descartes has claimed. I believe that rationalism is an ideal situation or our imagination and it is almost impossible to reach at a pure state of total rationalism. This is due to the reason that our conclusions are based on the imperfect perceptions. Imperfect perfections are because of the subjectivity and it is not possible to separate the subjectivity from our logic, thinking and perception. We have to take into consideration the subjectivity and we can never believe something to be completely 100% true until and unless we see it.
Descartes also confirmed that he is a rationalist by giving wax theory. He explained that a person can rely on someone else's senses of perception by giving example of a candle. The original candle has a unique shape but when it is burned and...
He further argued that the solid wax which has qualities of being hard and scent is when placed near heat or fire; it melts and its physical structure changes. Similarly all the senses are when obliterated in one object; the result is a sensible object which is actually due to the actual senses which are already present in the person.
Analyzing the example of candle, I agree that candle takes a totally different shape after melting and its characteristics change but it remains wax. It cannot turn into some other material; it only changes from its solid state to liquid and takes some other shape. Similarly, no doubt that the person's ideas and thinking are his inner knowledge which he gains without doing anything but his senses also help him to get knowledge from experience and observations. The senses of people look at different situations in a different way but the person's basic knowledge and insight remains there which help him to learn right lesson from his experiences.
Looking at all these points, I reach to conclusion that Descartes concept of rationalism seems interesting as it helps me in knowing that my ideas and thinking is my actual knowledge. It gives me a feeling that if am creative, intelligent and able to think in an intelligent way then it is the most important and actual knowledge I have. It is the power which helps me to look, understand and analyze any situation in a better way. However, I do not agree with Descartes on his total rejection to empiricism as I strongly believe that our life experiences play an important role in gaining knowledge. A person who has creative ideas and ability to think intelligently can polish his skills and enhance his knowledge and capabilities by observing the real life situations.
Works Cited
Pereboom, Derk. The Rationalists. Critical Essays on Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz. USA: Roman and Littlefield Publishers, 1999.
