The course aims at the systematic learning of the basic principles of epistemology and metaphysics at the beginning of the modern era. Basic concepts of the latest rational philosophy are analyzed, such as The need for a philosophical foundation of new scientific knowledge The role of doubt in the Cartesian methodology The importance of the Cartesian cogito The mind-body relationship in the context of Cartesian dualism The shift from faith to critical thinking importance of the proof of the existence of God for the new rationalism the new relationship between philosophy and theology.
Also, basic concepts of the parallel empiricist philosophical current, which opposes rationality, and develops the decisive role of the senses in the knowledge process, are analyzed. More specifically, they are examined The role of empirical data The possibility of synthesizing fragmentary empirical representations The concept of Reason in empiricism, the relation between fantasy and Reason The necessary or non-necessary character of causality Causality and Probability as associative effects or categories of Reason Relationship between empiricism and skepticism.
The innovations offered by both currents are examined, in the historical context of the emergence of modern science and the wider cultural and social intersections of the modern era. The contribution and limits of both currents, the mutual critical argumentation and the complementary character of these in the cognitive process are highlighted.