Descartes' Second Mediation Wax EssayWithin Descartes' Second Mediation, two types of philosophical ideology oppose each other, which include both the empiricists and the rationalists. Empiricists believe in knowledge through experience while rationalists believe in knowledge derived from logic. Descartes uses the idea and concept of “wax” to understand the basis on which the reality of wax rests. Is it really wax? How do you know wax is wax when it no longer looks, smells or feels the same? Descartes uses his rational mind to help him understand how he knows that wax is really wax even when it is melted. I believe more in the rationalist ideology than in the empiricists because I value knowledge through logic more than knowledge through experience. I prefer to use my judgment on an unknown object and then experiment with what the object may be. For example, I would rather know that a chair is a weapon based on judging that chair in the context in which it is used, rather than relying on my senses and experience. Although I place great value on the empirical way of thinking, knowledge through experience, I believe that the rational way of thinking allows for a better understanding of both ideas and objects due to the importance of judgement. The ideology behind the empiricists derives from the Latin words, a posteriori. A posteriori describes the knowledge they acquire as the fruit of experience. For example, if you are standing on the side of a road and get splashed with water, you will learn to move further away from the road so that you don't get splashed next time. In addition to gaining knowledge through experience, they also believe in knowledge through the senses. They are in the middle of the paper. The melted wax no longer smelled, smelled, or sounded like the solid form of wax. Therefore, the senses discredit the validity of the wax. However, by judgment we are able to confirm that the melted wax is the same wax observed before being melted. Although I believe that both ways of thinking are more or less useful in certain situations, I would hold the rational way of thinking, thinking based on logic, to a higher degree. Rational thinking allows us to make judgments about ideas and objects that we have not yet experienced, it allows us to have a better chance of not only living, but also making better assumptions and choices. Rational thinking allows us to make judgments about substances and determine the validity of ideas and objects, allowing us to both see the differences between things such as hot wax and wax and to see that they are essentially identical..