In Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciences by Rene Descartes, and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke, Descartes and Locke both speak on the subject of truth. Both authors emphasize their need to reach life’s truths but go about it in different ways.

Descartes believes that in order to find life’s truths, he must first abandon everything they have been educated in and start fresh. After doing so, he set off to travel and learn from “the great book of the world” (1) with an unclouded mind. Locke, on the other hand, believed that the only truths that need to be discovered are things that are true to each unique individual. He states that everyone starts off life with a blank, white paper and over time our experiences furnish the paper. In the end, this book is filled with all our own unique truths, truths that may not be true to someone else.

If Descartes and Locke were to speak to each other they would conflict over the degree of certainty of their truths. Descartes was very strict with making sure his truths were in fact true. He created his own set of guidelines when searching for truths. His first rule was to only believe things that he can prove himself. His second rule was to reduce every problem to its simplest parts, and to proceed through his thoughts in an orderly fashion from simplest part to most complex. His last rule was to create a long chain of reasoning and leave nothing out when solving a problem. (2) That being said, it is clear that Descartes is really focused on finding truths that are true universally.

Locke was less focused on the certainty of his truths. He believes that through the use of reason we can come to a certain degree of knowledge. He didn’t have any strict guidelines like Descartes did. Also, since he thought that peoples’ experiences define their own truths, his definition of truth may not be a “universal fact” since each individual has different experiences.