Solipsism and its Relation to Descarte's Philosophy

Solipsism is one of the important current challenges in the Western philosophy, and identifying the backgrounds and philosophical factors for its emergence and expansion is of importance from different aspects. In the present article, we have used the library research method along with rational analysis to evaluate the relationship between solipsism and Descartes’ philosophy. Thus, we first identified solipsism and its two main types – i.e. “ontological solipsism” and “epistemological solipsism” – and then explained Descartes’ doubts (perceptual illusion, dream problem, deceiving God and evil demon). Besides, we have investigated the relationship between each of these doubts and solipsism, and their efficiency in proving solipsism. In the last step, Descartes’ theory of knowledge has been introduced and its effect on preparing the ground and diffusion of solipsist views in the West has been investigated.