Single Idea 5359

[catalogued under 11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 4. The Cogito]

Full Idea

By showing that subjective things are the most certain, Descartes performed a great service to philosophy.

Gist of Idea

Descartes showed that subjective things are the most certain

Source

Bertrand Russell (Problems of Philosophy [1912], Ch. 2)

Book Reference

Russell,Bertrand: 'The Problems of Philosophy' [OUP 1995], p.8


A Reaction

This praise comes from an empiricist, who has just said that 'sense-data' are the most certain things. I presume that animals are more certain of the world than they are of subjective things. In fact, probably on philosophers agree with Russell.