From Descartes to Hume: Existence Cognition in the Context of Pre-Kantian Epistemology

Abstract

In order to explore the function of Kant as a reservoir in the history of philosophy, this paper reviews the thought of several important philosophers who preceded him from an interpretive perspective. It analyses Descartes I think, therefore I am, mainly in terms of the unity of subject and object, and then examines how Humes refinement of empiricism was transformed by the influence of purely theoretical thinking. Finally, the two are explained in the context of Kants thought, which leads to subsequent developments.