Plato & other great minds...

He was a rationalist philosopher. He believed in the Theory of Froms. A book that stated that the material world as it seems, is not the real world, but only an image or copy of the real world. He thought that all Good in this world is what gives a sense of being to other Forms in the world. He was the one who came up with the “Allegory Cave” where we briefly explains that men always think they are right, until they’re proven otherwise.

Aristotle:

His epistemology lasted for almost a thousand years. Aristotle was a rationalist, but his main focus was the empiricism. Rejected the Theory of Forms, and believed in the form of the objects. The existence of an essence underlying within the objects. He stated that the true knowledge comes from active reason when perceiving the forms.

William of Ockham:

He was the first thinker in opposing the tendencies of the Middle Ages. He stated that reason obtains knowledge through experience and it can be of two types: complex and uncomplex. Uncomplex is divided in: intuitive, experimental and abstractive. He said “The truths of faith are not self-evident, nor are demonstrable, nor even probable.”

Rene Descartes:

He came up with the mind- body problem. In order to reach absolute certainties you have to start from an absolute doubt. He created his own system known as methodic doubt or Cartesian doubt. He stated that there are two types of substances: reason and matter. “I think, therefore I am” proves the existence of the first one, and he proves the existence of the second one by the existence of God. “If God exists, all my clear and distinct ideas will be true”

Baruch Spinoza:

His doctrine is known as pantheism. He thought that there is just one substance: God, and that he has two attributes thought and extension. He said that all thing in this world are modifications of God. He stated that there are no truth nor false ideas, but adequate or inadequate. There are three levels of knowledge:

Opinion – Imagination: it’s empiric and leads to confusion.

Rational: adequate ideas common to all humankind.

Intuitive: holistic knowledge of God.

G.W. Leibniz:

He said that extension is an illusion and is made of simple and non material beings, called monads; and that physical reality can’t be based in something extensive. He thought that God is the Infinite monad, who created an infinite number of finite monads. Men are perfect Monads (souls) imprisoned in imperfect Monads (bodies). Monads of reason perceive with more clarity than the others, that’s where knowledge is born.