In the philosophy of René Descartes, the method of doubt (or Cartesian doubt, Descartes' Doubt or methodical doubt) is a way of seeking certainty by systematically doubting everything. Descartes decided on this method of doubt after confronting the many and endless discussions held by the traditional scholastics , which seemed to yield no results. Descartes saw the cause in the fact that no undoubted certainties had yet been found in philosophy on which to build. Descartes proposed to move on to a methodical doubt , ie to doubt everything that could possibly be doubted, even the scientific insights of the time and the Holy Scriptures. If you leave out everything that can be doubted, you are left with only that which is necessarily true, according to Descartes.
In summary, the method of doubt is a central element in René Descartes' philosophy and is divided into segments, summarized by the statement: 'initially nothing is certain'. According to Descartes, there is always doubt about the authenticity of sensory perceptions, for which he uses the example of optical illusions in his work Méditation métaphysique . In addition, there is also a hyperbolic doubt : the doubt, which previously related to what was observed, in Descartes reaches all aspects of reality, including abstract concepts and mathematical truths. This thought process eventually led Descartes to an absolute knowledge, the cogito. Among other things, it enabled him to demonstrate, empirically rather than logically, the existence of human freedom.
see also: Meditations on First Philosophy - summary
