​Descartes' method of doubt and cogito ergo sum

About Descartes:
Rene Descartes was a French philosopher primarily a mathematician and the scientist he is
considered to be the father of rationalism as he propounded rationalism and gave philosophy till
date a new direction

Rene Descartes' main aim was to arrive at absolutely certain and indubitable knowledge he held
that if a certain method was used in Philosophy to arrive at some certain knowledge like a
specific method is used in scientific research to arrive at some conclusion Then there would be
no diversity and only absolute certain knowledge
Being a hardcore rationalist Descartes would not rely on perception as a source of knowledge
as he observed that not always what one perceives is true for example when seeing the sun
from earth the sun appears as a small object when in reality it is an object even bigger than the
earth itself This made him doubt all the knowledge he had previously and to wonder even if he
had any knowledge as a result Descartes gradually developed the method of doubt which is a
methodological method where an individual takes deliberately a sceptic position in order to gain
knowledge unlike scepticism where doubt is taken for only the sake of doubting the method of
doubt by Descartes is constructive or positive as its aim is to establish some certain and
indubitable knowledge he developed this method firstly by doubting or questioning the basic
metaphysical Grounds like does world exist here in the method of doubt he is doubting the
perceptual knowledge and hence everything dependent upon it even experience of the
existence of world or self

Rene Descartes applied the method of doubt to the arguments providing grounds for the
question "does world really exist ?"

1. The argument of illusion

Here the question is "what if the world is merely an illusion does it cease to exist including all
objects in it?" to refute this argument Rene Descartes claimed that to be sure about if the world
is an illusion we have to gain experience of what is real

2. The argument of dream

Here the question is "what if the world is a dream and as we have no Awareness of it we
perceive it as absolutely real?" Descartes refutes this argument by saying that "there are no
definite of science by which to distinguish being awake from being asleep" (meditation i) by this
he means that we cannot have the knowledge as we do not know the distinction between this
dream and the awakened state
3. The argument of deception

This argument is quite unique and peculiar as Rene Descartes introduces a demon in this
argument who he thinks is deceiving his mind here the question is what if a demon is deceiving
my mind to perceive the basic Grounds as real such as two plus two equals four or the
existence of the world is real by the refutation of this argument Rene descarte gives us his most
famous work and the coined term in Philosophy cogito ergo sum or I think therefore I am in the
following way

While Rene Descartes is trying to refute whether a Demon is deceiving him or not he arrived at
a basic truth that even if such a demon can deceive him about the existence of world or other
things he cannot deceive him about the fact that he is doubting and this is of which that is Rene
Descartes is absolutely certain of that there is certainly the existence of the doubter who is
doubting the basic Grounds and if there is a doubter then there is a thinker as doubting is a part
of thinking and the existence of a thinker shows the existence of mind and hence I think
therefore I am or cogito ergo sum

This coin term satisfies Rene Descartes as an answer to find absolute certain knowledge and
cogito ergo sum becomes the basic exam at the starting point for Rene Descartes' following
philosophy