The reason and the senses in Guy de Maupassant

Abstract

The matter of reason and of the senses, as a way of apprehending the real, was widely thought in modern times, especially by philosophers such as René Descartes (1596-1650), David Hume (1754-1776), Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804) and Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). The empiricist and idealistic ideas, with the appreciation of the senses and of thought, respectively, enter the nineteenth century and influence many thinkers and writers, as is the case of the French writer Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893). In his work, the writer questions both reason and senses and shows us, in his personal style, that both are limited forms of perception.