A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF RATIONALISM IN THE LIGHT OF CARTESIAN EPISTEMOLOGY

ABSTRACT

The problem of knowledge before existence is a philosophical question. It primarily pertains to questions about the origin and nature of knowledge and whether knowledge can exist independently of or prior to the existence of the knower or the objects of knowledge.1 Rationalist philosopher René Descartes, argued for the existence of innate ideas that are present in the mind from birth. Descartes famously asserted, “Cogito, ergo sum, “I think therefore I am”, suggesting that the act of thinking and doubting provides foundational knowledge that precedes any sensory experience. This raises questions about the origin and nature of these innate ideas.2 Descartes argued that while we might doubt the existence of everything else, we cannot doubt the existence of ourselves as thinking beings. From this point of certainty, he attempted to rebuild his system of knowledge, eventually leading to the existence of God as a guarantor of clear and distinct ideas. 39 In Descartes' philosophy, knowledge begins with the existence of the thinking self, and everything else is built upon this foundational certainty. While his approach to the problem of knowledge before existence doesn't directly address the question of pre-existing knowledge in the way Plato did, it does establish a starting point for knowledge based on the existence of the thinking self.