Modern Western Philosophy: Rationalism and Empiricism
Scope
Modern Western philosophy centers on the rationalist-empiricist debate and Kant’s response. Questions test innate ideas, substance, causation, induction, personal identity, and the limits of knowledge.
Core concepts
- Descartes: method of doubt; cogito ergo sum; mind-body dualism; clear and distinct ideas; God’s veracity.
- Spinoza: one substance, Deus sive Natura; parallelism of thought and extension; adequate ideas.
- Leibniz: monads, pre-established harmony, principle of sufficient reason.
- Empiricism: Locke’s tabula rasa and primary/secondary qualities; Berkeley’s esse est percipi; Hume’s impressions and ideas, bundle self, and causation as custom.
- Kant: synthetic a priori; phenomena/noumena; categories structure experience.
Worked example
Question: “How does Hume analyze causation?” Reasoning: observe billiard ball A striking B. We see contiguity, succession, and constant conjunction, not a necessary connection. The idea of necessary connection arises from custom or habit after repeated experience. Conclusion: causal necessity is not empirically observed; it is a feature of how we think, not a perceived power.
Traps
Descartes does not remain in total doubt; Locke does not deny an external world; Berkeley does not deny God; Hume is not a blanket skeptic about all belief. Do not call rationalism “anti-experience” or empiricism “no reason.”