What are the most important differences between rationalists and Term Paper

What are the most important differences between rationalists and empiricists(Site specific philosophers in each group) - Term Paper Example It is known that rationalists and empiricists give different answers to the above-mentioned questions. Such rationalists as Des Cartes stated that one always describes the highest truth by means of logic and reason. One should not apply subjective or direct experience to do that. As for empiricist’s point of view, experience is very important as it is the basis of one’s development of logic. Once Isaac Asimov uttered that â€Å"I prefer rationalism to atheism. The question of God and other objects-of-faith are outside reason and play no part in rationalism, thus you do not have to waste your time in either attacking or defending† (Lacewing, 65). This statement demonstrates that for Asimov it was better and more convenient to use rationalism than empiricism. As for empiricism, it teaches that one should not try learning more about God with the help of reason. This school recommends using two projects instead of that. They are: critical and constructive. The first one focuses on the elimination of what is known by metaphysicians. The second pays attention to the commentaries of religious texts. A strong point of empiricism is that people are able quickly understand the sources of information/knowledge. In the majority of cases it is received with the help of the senses. It is a casual process. Experience helps to form one’s concepts. When the latter are gained, their understanding gives to the individual analytic knowledge. Thus, John Locke is sure that â€Å"all ideas are derived from sense experience. The mind is a ‘tabula rasa’, empty at birth. He begins his argument by attacking the opposite point of view – that some ideas are not derived from sense experience, but are ‘innate’. By ‘innate idea’ Locke means a concept or proposition which is part of the mind from birth. For an idea to be part of the mind, the

Art of Darkness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Art of Darkness - Essay Example rop Frye discusses it in his essay, refers simply to a special kind of narrative.1 The special nature of this narrative is that it is devised to reflect the beliefs of a particular culture, especially as it uses the concept of the supernatural to explore and explain natural events and the essence of human nature. Frye’s argument is that this mythic narrative is included in almost all of the archetypes used in literature and that these concepts are also found within our most sacred ritual events as we continue to seek the true nature of the order of life. Considering Frye’s discussion of myth, ritual and the natural cycle as it is presented in The Archetypes of Literature, it can be seen that there are several rituals and beliefs that we experience in modern life that we are perhaps not even aware of as being a voluntary affirmation of the natural order of life, such as the beliefs we associate with the concept of darkness. An examination into the traditional values asso ciated with darkness helps to inform the shift in focus seen as the world began to shift into its more modern configuration. Generally acknowledged to have started with the publication of Horace Walpole’s novel The Castle of Otranto in 1764, the Gothic genre represents a fundamental shift in thinking from one dominated by ideals and reason to one of imagination and emotion.2 Gothic literature is characterized by its unique way of combining horror and romance to create a completely new genre that, particularly after the advent of Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic theory,3 focused more and more on the power of the mind to terrify itself. Common elements found within Gothic literature include terror, the supernatural, ghosts, haunted houses with a particular type of architecture, castles, darkness, death, madness, secrets and hereditary curses. Characters typically fall into stereotypical personas such as the femmes fatales, flawed heroes, monsters of various types and flawed individuals.