Business Accounting and Ethical Standards

A) The duty of the auditor arises from the ASA 315 which in conjunction with ASA 570 on Going Concern wherein he has to see if there is an environment which leads to misstatement of records. He should accordingly recalibrate his assessment. With the new evidence, he should check if there exists a material uncertainty and therefore conjectures to the ability of the pany to continue as a Going Concern. With the new evidence, the auditor will see the following that there is an immense doubt on the fact whether the pany can continue as a Going Concern and therefore adequate disclosures are made pointing to such events which creates such conjectures on the pany to continue as a Going Concern. Here, King & Queen (K & Q) auditor are auditors of Impulse since 2005. They should be aware that there are liquidity problems in the pany. Hence applying ASA 570 and dictated by their duty in Sec 295 (4) of the Corporations Act, K & Q auditor should have done additional audit procedures to check the viability of the Going Concern assumption. These could include points like valuation of inventory,   receivable realisations. This will stamp the fact that if there is a risk of Going concern and whether such facts will be disclosed. Hence they have not done their duty as per audit standards and mon law. As a result, there is a transgression of proper professional skill and standards In a case of Esanda Finance Corp Ltd vs. Peat Marwick Hungerford’s[1], there is a landmark High Court ruling. This has thrown light and made it clear about their view on earlier judgements and revised their mistakes in the past judgements. They have now eliminated the liability of the auditor in a third party liability. In that they have tested the bined facts of Proximity, Reliance and Causation. The case is similar to this case study where Esanda had an economic deprivation when they sanctioned the loan to the pany on the back of the auditor’s report analysis. It satisfied itself whether auditor to be held liable. The courts concluded that there was a mere reporting to the shareholders and not to the financiers. They did not have any clairvoyance that lenders would act based on this report. This is in spite of the fact that they were aware that report did not indicate a true and fair view of financial statements. Since they did not anticipate that the financier will b e using the report, K & Q auditor should have made it clear that the report would be analysed and used verbatim by the lenders and hence a probability of loss could be there; It is stated that Esanda unreasonably depended on the audit report and did not perform diligence themselves to convince of the finances of the borrower The Court held that auditor has not breached duty of care and used the test of Proximity & Causation in their conclusion. Depending on this case, K & Q auditor were not aware that the report would have been used by EFL Finance for lending. The finance pany lent to Impulse by relying on the report and did not conduct an independent diligence. Depending on the case of Proximity, Reliance and Causation, K & Q auditor remained within their limits of duty of care and hence are not liable to EFL Finance b) If Esanda had ab initio mentioned to K & Q auditor that they will use the report for deciding on lending to Impulse, it can be concluded that the test of Proximity and Reliance are maintained. Hence K & Q auditor may exercise reasonable care keeping in mind that one of the intended audiences is EFL Finance who will rely on the audit procedures of K & Q auditor. Hence they need to collect audit evidence and reach a conclusion in their audit report keeping in mind the reader. Even after such mention, if the procedures on inventory and debtors are not done by K & Q auditor, then they have transgressed the precincts of care and their pliance with Proximity, Reliance has failed. As a result, the Causation factor or cause of economic loss has been triggered and accordingly K & Q auditor will be liable to EFL Finance in this scenario 2A) This is defined by APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, Independence prises of: Independence of Mind (Actual Independence) – This expects a mental state which ensures that the auditor acts as an objective and independent person. His opinion will therefore be free from any vested interests and influences. Independence in Appearance (Perceived independence) – Auditor to maintain his image and standard such that any third party will not raise any doubt on his independence and credentials to form an opinion. Independence of the mind or actual independence involves objectivity of the mental condition and mental state and his objectivity to react to specific situations. An auditor who is truly independent has the ability to make non vested decisions in spite of the prejudices. However, since the state of mind where he is perceived to have colluded with the pany and promised his principles is highly volatile, it cannot be objectively benchmarked with respect to time and environment. Therefore, the test of Independence in Appearance or â€Å"Perceived Independence† needs to e upheld wherein he shows the same consistency in behaviour to a knowledgeable person and his client equally. Perceived independence can be measured based on how close the audit member is to the client and he gets any pecuniary benefits for the same. This could also include a dependency test on his economic drive with one client measured to his total revenue. Perceived independence accentuates the credibility of th e report and opinion expressed by the auditor and therefore his opinion is worth the salt. (i) Bob – Principle of Confidentiality is a key point of APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants wherein information extracted in a professional engagement is not to be disclosed to any third party without specific authority nor use it for personal benefits provided there is no legal and official reason to reveal. In the instant situation, Bob copied confidential information which was used for his personal benefit of finishing his university assignments though it did not contain the Club Casino name. Even if you remove the name of the client in the assignment, it does not remove the fact that confidentiality was predominantly breached. This being used for vested interest and not professional interest, there is no possibility of cover up with any alternate action. (ii) Wendy – Wendy is a partner in an audit firm. She has been assigned post of pany Secretary (CS) position in the same pany who is her audit client. This triggers Clause 290.142 of APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Assignment of such staff is pointing to a self review threat which could have been absolved if it was for only a temporary period. But that not is the case, wherein Wendy has been given the post on a permanent basis. Her position is close to the pany triggering self-review and advocacy threats. Hence there is no way the threat can be brought to acceptable level. Per AUST290.148.1, a pany Secretary is an Officer under the Corporations Act. Wendy cannot act as a temporary partner in the client.   The only way is to resign from the audit engagement. (iii) Leo- Leo is a close member of the audit group and his elative prepares the financials and statements in the firm. The opinion to be expressed on such cash flows has a conflict for Leo. The threat therefore can be minimised to Acceptable level if Leo is replaced and he is restricted from working on such assignments where his relative has an influence in making the base documents to be audited. Per APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, it is r mended that Leo to be removed from the audit since his father has a more than significant influence (iv) Chan & Associates – If Chan holds stake, such stake will not create an independence threat if the business relationship is insignificant to Chan, his audit form and the pany where he holds stake. Such stake should also not create an ability to control the pany and it is immaterial to him. But here Chan has 25% equity in the entity which is high and can create two threats namely self interest/intimidation. Per APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, Chan has to relinquish his stake and resign from his audit engagement responsibility of Classic Reproductions. Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board, (2008).  APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Australia. Auasb.gov.au. (2016).  Australian Auditing Standards. [online] Available at: https://www.auasb.gov.au [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016]. Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, (2013).  Auditing Standard ASA 570 Going Concern. Austlii.edu.au. (2016).  ASA 570 - Going Concern - April 2006. [online] Available at: https://www.austlii.edu.au/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016]. Cpaaustralia .au. (2016).  Accounting professional and ethical standards. [online] Available at: https://www.cpaaustralia .au [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016]. Nguyen, V. and Rajapakse, P. (2008). An Analysis of the Auditors' Liability to Third Parties in Australia. mon Law World Review

Religion and Ecology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Religion and Ecology - Essay Example This book guides its reader through everyday life with an eco-friendly and animal -friendly outlook. It advises its readers on how to raise children in an environmentally sound way of life as well. The application of religion could potentially be applied to this type of lifestyle but the conflict arises in the arena of commitment to God. Particularly in Christianity, one’s devotion to God is of the utmost importance. This means that one should be concerned about one’s spiritual life and the promise of the eternal afterlife more so than the physical realm of this earth and its inhabitants and recourses. In the Old Testament, routine sacrificing of animals was imperative in keeping one’s God happy. This was a ritual that rid an individual of sin and evil deeds, before the eyes of God. Certainly, this made for a good disciple of God but was not an animal friendly approach to life by any means. One of the key aspects to environmentally friendly living, is respecting the creatures that live on this planet. That means humans as well as all animals. Through a religious perspective, God gave Adam and Eve dominion over all of the animals. This is often interpreted by Christians to mean that humans should feel free to eat animals, wear their skin and sacrifice them as burnt offerings if need be. There is a more eco-friendly interpretation of this that states that having dominion over animals just means that humans are to watch out for and care for the animals of the earth. But, as the Bible goes from Old Testament to New Testament, readers of the Bible are told that Jesus was the ult imate sacrifice and that animal sacrifices were no longer necessary. Most Christians though today, will freely eat meat and concern themselves with spirituality as opposed to the physical condition of the earth. The concept of Christianity is ultimately that one

Technological Change and Economic Growth Research Paper

Technological Change and Economic Growth - Research Paper Example Moreover, it is very essential to understand here that technology does not refer only to the information and technology but it signifies the transfer of knowledge, both theoretical and practical knowledge (Amesse & Cohendet, 2001, pp. 1459-1478) that influences the process of development positively and/or negatively. In order to understand the role of technological change in economic growth and broadly, economic development, it is very imperative to understand the definition of the terms itself that will subsequently indicate the role. Particularly, it has been an observation that economic development (Borensztein & Lee, 1995, pp. 115-124) has often been taken only in terms of economic progress of a state; in other words, in terms of its gross domestic production. However, in current era, economic development is more than an increase in GDP and various factors play a role in determining positive or negative economic development of a country. ... Here, one can notice various indicators in this list cannot be analysed quantitatively and therefore, economic development is more than quantitative progress of a country. The World Bank (2013) data confirms strong relationship of technological change with economic growth of countries. Analysis of its findings has indicated that countries that have invested more in technological advancements, especially in the sectors of education and business have been successful in providing basic facilities to its population, which has resulted in their overall economic growth and/or development. In other words, when a government ensures secure and encouraging social environment by working towards increased technological advancements, it automatically results in higher economic growth of the country. This surely is an indication of the role of technological changes that facilitates economic growth of a country. While the paper includes discussion on the role of technological change in economic gro wth of a country, it will be inappropriate to overlook the particular role of multinational enterprises that they play by bringing FDIs especially in developing countries. For many decades, quantitative indicator of economic growth (Victor, 2008, pp. 5-11) has remained an essential requisite for developing countries to transform into modern and developed economies. In the year 1972, Gould (pg. 1) defined economic growth as â€Å"the sustained increase in real per capita incomes.† Here, one can see that economic growth does not consider short-term alterations since it focuses on ‘sustained increase’. In this regard, one cannot overlook the significant role of

Figure Of Christ In lord Of The Flies :: essays research papers

"CHRIST" IN LORD OF THE FLIES Many critics have compared the character of Simon in the book Lord of the Flies to a Christ figure. After reading this book I also found out that Simon and Christ had a lot in common. The first time we, readers start considering Simon a special person, different from the others is when we see him the only one to helping the littluns to gather fruits they were unable to reach. "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands." (p.51) So we know about Jesus -- carrying about starving and suffering. After Christ was baptized he walked away to the desert and stayed there for forty days, meditating and praying. So did Simon. He felt better walking in the jungle alone, thinking, probably, dreaming, enjoying the power and the beauty of the nature. In that desert Christ also talked to God and I think it was the God's appeal to Simon when the large ray of light fell down from the sky. "Beyond the screen of leaves the sunlight pelted down and the butterflies danced in the middle their unending dance."(p.120) Simon did not fear it and he faced it. As Christ facing God, Simon knelt. Physical help to people was not the main task of Christ -- he taught, gave sermons, appealed to clear their souls and thoughts - to get rid of internal evil. As well Simon was the only one who supposed that the beast they were so afraid of was, probably, inside them. "What I mean is . . . maybe it's only us." (p.80) God chose Christ from all others to fulfill the most important task because Jesus was sinless and saint. Simon was the only one on that island with clear soul and the good inside him without any ambitions of power and suppression. So it was his destiny and privedge to confront the "beast" first and to talk to it The Lord of the Flies told Simon that the evil was inside the boys and for that reason - invinsible. It was trying to tempt Simon saying that he was initially good but everyone was going to have fun on the island so Simon has to quit being perfect and become like the rest of the boys.

Organizational Change Plan Essay

Falls are a common cause of morbidity and the leading cause of nonfatal injuries and trauma-related hospitalizations in the United States (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Falls can occur in home and as well as in any health care facility. In hospitals, falls consistently make up the largest single category of reported incidents, with most falls occurring as a result of medication related issues, toileting, and hospital environment conditions. With falls accounting for the leading cause of injuries in hospital, it is imperative that environment safety and fall prevention is addressed in facilities. This change plan will include the need for implementation of a fall risk assessment and fall precautions, barriers to change, factors influencing change and the readiness for change as well as resources available to support change. These changes will be implementing with the help of using, Kurt Lewin’s Change Plan Theory. Need for the Proposed Change A fall is defined as an event which there is a downward displacement of a patient’s body from a standing, sitting, or lying position that may result in injury (St Peter’s Hospital, 2012). St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, New York, is one of the major acute care hospitals committed to promotion of patient safety. Acute care hospitals show that fall rates range from 1.3 to 8.9 falls/1,000 patient days and that higher rates occur in units that focus on eldercare, surgical, neurology and rehabilitation (â€Å"National Quality Measures Clearinghouse†, 2013). Due to the high number of patient falls and increased risk factors in the hospital it is imperative to have fall assessments and fall prevention standardized throughout the hospital. Patients’ will be provided an optimal safe environment during care based on the Environment Safety and Fall Prevention Policy and Procedure. Fall  prevention strategies are to be executed per standard of care and indivi dualized based on patient assessment within the patient plan of care. Certain patients are considered to be at a greater risk for falls. Factors such as patients who are 85 years old or older, osteoporosis, anticoagulants treatment, bleeding disorders and patients post-operative. Every patient who is admitted into the hospital is placed on universal fall precautions and nurses will further assess patients based on the Hendrich II Assessment Tool and Get-Up-and-Go Assessment. Patients are also reassessed every shift, with change in condition, after a transfer, and after a fall. The Hendrich II Fall Risk Model is used to assess a hospitalized patient’s risk of falling. Designed to be administered quickly, it focuses on eight independent risk factors: confusion, disorientation, and impulsivity, symptomatic depression, altered elimination, dizziness or vertigo, male sex, administration of antiepileptic (or changes in dosage or cessation), administration of benzodiazepines, and poor performance in rising from a seated position in the Get-Up-and-Go Assessment (Hendrich, MSN, RN, FAAN, 2007). Along with universal fall precautions, Hendrich assessment and Get-Up-and-Go Assessment, staff members should be monitoring their environment on an ongoing basis for situations that may lead to a fall, such as tubing and equipment posing as a tripping hazard. Staff members must be proactive with assisting patients with unsteady gait, need for assistive devise and patients with weakness to ensure safety. Once a patient is scored a fall risk, the nurse will initiates a fall prevention program and activate fall risk in patient’s plan of care. A yellow arm band is placed on the patient, special skid resistant slipper socks are provider to the patient and fall precaution sign is placed outside patient’s door and over the bed to ensure all staff members are aware of fall risk. Providing education on preventing falls to both family and patient, placing patients closer to the nurses’ station, providing bed alarms, sitters and hourly rounding are other measures to avoid falls. Patients who score five or greater are considered to be risk for falls and fall interventions will be initiated. Another safety measure important to prevention of falls is to include fall risks in all shift to shift reports. Barriers to Change St. Peter’s Hospital is an large organization specializing in Cardiac,  Hepatobiliary, Bariatric, Gastrointestinal and Orthopedic Surgeries. Being such a diverse large organization inconsistency throughout the hospital shows to be the major barrier to change. Other barriers are lack of employee involvement, lack of financial resources and poor communication. To overcome such barriers, an awareness of the need for an effectiveness of fall risk assessment and fall prevention program is essential. Employees, patient’s, and family members need to be aware of fall risks, fall precautions and the fall prevention program. Factors Influencing Change Increasing patient satisfaction and at the same time preventing and reducing the amount of falls on a daily basis is the key factor. Patient satisfaction is ultimately the driving force behind the changes in the hospital. If patients are not satisfied with care, they will go to another provider and thus the hospital will lose money. In order for St. Peter’s Hospital to remain ranked in the top 10 hospitals, they must ensure all patients are pleased and safe with their care. One way to make certain that the hospital patient safety increases is by implementing changes throughout the hospital to standardized the fall risk assessments and fall prevention program. In order to be successful with this change, regulatory changes will be necessary to be made in accordance with fall prevention. St. Peter’s Hospital is committed to patient’s safety and ensures all patients are provided with an optimal safe environment during care. Training is required for all employees to guarantee compliance and full understand of the fall prevention program. Evaluation of the program is another regulatory change that is necessary for the success of the program. Monitoring on a regular basis is required to determine effectiveness of program and deciding if changes should be made or modified. Factors Influencing Readiness for Change When organizational readiness for change is high, organizational members are more likely to initiate change, exert greater effort, exhibit greater persistence, and display more cooperative behavior (Weiner, 2009). Readiness requires both the capability to make change as well as the motivation to make the change. Readiness is contingent on several different factors throughout the hospital. Several factors for implementing the falls  risk assessment and fall prevention program is the high rate of falls throughout the hospital. Readiness is also determined by the financial stand point of the hospital. The hospital must be willing and able to devote extra funds to pay for increased amount of employee training and education. Theoretical Change Model: Kurt Lewin’s Change Theory Utilizing Kurt Lewin’s Change Theory can assist St. Peter’s Hospital to make the change, minimize disruption and assure that the change is adopted permanently. Lewin’s three step model of change are as follows: Unfreezing, Changing and Refreezing. Unfreezing is the readiness for change. During this phase St. Peter’s Hospital will prepare the hospital staff for the implementation of the falls risk assessment and falls prevention program. In order to prepare the hospital staff of the need for change, they must first provide information and research regarding the program and the benefits. Once unfreezing is complete, St. Peter’s Hospital would transition into the second phase known as, Change. Change is the actual implementation of the proposed change. In order to implement these changes, training will be provided and required for all employees to guarantee compliance and full understand of the fall prevention program. Evaluation and monitoring of the program will also be conducted during this phase to ensure compliance as well as understanding. Actually making the falls risk assessment and falls prevention program a permanent entity to the nursing assessment is the final stage of refreezing. During this stage, St. Peter’s Hospital will continue to offer education and support throughout the hospital to standardized the fall risk assessment and falls program. Recourses Available for Change It would be virtually nearly impossible to implement an successful change without having the necessary resources. In order to implement such a plan as the fall risk and fall prevention program, St. Peter’s Hospital must have a team of educated employees throughout the many disciplines and be able to train the remainder of the hospital with the new proposed changes. Education would be in the form of class room demonstrations, on the unit in-services in addition to hospital based website education. Finances is another major resource that is required for the change plan. Without the  proper means, the hospital is not able to pay the employees and implementation would not be in effect. Conclusion Patient education needs to be incorporated into the admission process and continue throughout the hospitalization stay. Education provides the patient with the knowledge of the importance of safety and what part he or she contributes in their care as well as risk factor identified. Fall prevention programs are designed to determine fall risk and prevention strategies while collaborating with the patient’s health care. Informing both the patient and the family will bring an understanding and mindfulness to fall prevention. Falls are devastating to both the patient and the hospital considering a single fall may result in a downward spiral of reduced mobility with a loss of function and further risk of falls. Along with proper education, fall risk assessments are vital to the fall prevention process. These fall risk assessment are implemented hospital wide and are conducted every shift, change in status, during transfers to different units and at discharge (St. Peter’s Hospital, 2012). Compliance and consistency reduces falls and the overall cost of falls throughout the hospital improving the care. References Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview. Retrieved from August 23, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/adultfalls.html Currie, D.N. Sc, M.S.N., R.N., Leanne. (n.d. ). Fall and Prevention. Retrieved August 23, 2014, from http://ncbi.nlm.gov Hendrich, MSN, RN, FAAN, Ann. (2007, November). How to Try This† Predicting Falls. AJN, 107(11), 50 National Quality Measures Clearinghouse. (2013). Retrieved August 23, 2014, from http://www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov/content.aspx?id=36944 Environmental Safety and Fall Prevention. (2012). Retrieved August 23, 2014, from http://www.sphcs.org/environmentalsafetyandfallprevention.org Weiner, B. J. (2009, October). A Theory of Organizational Readiness for Change . Implementation Science, 4(67)

Effects Of Positive Punishment On Children - 1562 Words

This paper will explore effects of positive punishment on children from research conducted through an online database. The articles however vary in certain aspects and perspective of punishment. Lansford, Wagner, Bates, Pettit, Dodge (2012) discuss the controversy as to whether or not infrequent spanking is related to the higher levels of externalizing behavior. Fletcher (2012) discusses whether or not the use of punishment is effective on children. Straus (1999) suggested about 15 years ago that it might be time to start outlawing spanking as a form of assault. Last, Berzenski Yates (2013) assess physical punishment, such as spanking, and how it effects children’s behavioral and self-adjustment. Keywords: positive punishment,†¦show more content†¦This paper will examine current parental and legal thoughts on corporal punishment such as spanking and it’s effects it has on children both short-term and long-term. First, it is important to define the term punishment. Baumrind, Larzelere, Cowan (2002) state that positive punishment involves the addition of an aversive stimulus that should be used in moderation. Therefore, an example of positive punishment would be considered spanking since it involves the use of an object or the hand to apply an aversive stimulus onto the buttocks of a child. The differentiation in regard to the law between spanking and abuse is the fact that spanking does no cause injury, while abuse does. Parents who want to discontinue or prevent an undesirable behavior may practice punishment as a disciplinary tactic. Fletcher (2012) states that parents and physicians who are against spanking claim that it teaches the children a bad lesson, which is that violence allows them to get what they want. Parents who regularly use punishment tactics such as parenting are not â€Å"bad parents†. Whether or not a parent decides to practice spanking their children is completely their decision. As of now, there are no legal issues in regard to parenting as there is with abuse. This is because abuse involves injury while spanking does not. However, research today is suggesting that there are negative

Essay on Descartes Failure - 4852 Words

Descartes Failure In his Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes strives first and foremost to provide an infallibly justified foundation for the empirical sciences, and second to prove the existence of God. I will focus on the first and second meditations in my attempt to show that, in his skepticism of the sources of knowledge, he fails to follow the rules he has set out in the Discourse on Method. First I claim that Descartes fails to draw the distinction between pure sensation and inference, which make up what he calls sensation, and then consider the consequences of this failure to follow his method. Second, I will show that in his treatment of thinking Descartes fails to distinguish between active and passive thinking.†¦show more content†¦His goal is the betterment of the human condition. A useful metaphor for explaining the Cartesian system is the ‘tree of knowledge’.[3] According to Descartes the roots of knowledge are metaphysics, to which he applies himself in the Meditations. From the metaphysics grow the physics; for they are justified by the metaphysics; the physics are the trunk of the tree. From the physics branch off mechanics, medicine and morals, the fruits of which take the form of utility, that is, applied science, medicine, and applied ethics (on an interpersonal, or international level). The development of these fruits leads to the improvement of the human condition: freedom from pain, sickness and suffering through medicine, reduction of stresses on the body and freedom from physical labour through applied science (which makes our work easier), and freedom from anxiety and mental strain through the development of applied ethics (which helps us to avoid and resolve conflicts on many levels). Descartes uses a reductionistic method. In my criticism I will take up this method as well. Descartes can be criticized on the grounds that this may not be the best method, and is not the only one that has been proposed as appropriate to the task of justifying beliefs.[4] Descartes uses a first person method often called epistemic individualism, in which he takes up the position of anShow MoreRelatedThe Role of God in Descartes Epistemology1356 Words   |  5 Pagesepistemology. Throughout this essay, I aim to critically examine the role of God in Descartes’ epistemology. Renà © Descartes’ epistemological contribution to western philosophy attempted to inaugurate a coherent method of questioning whereby knowledge of the world is attained independently of the authority of the Church or Bible. Strangely enough this separation had no intention on removing god from our lives or minds. 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By an analysis of the structure of the arguments and what they prove, I will show the evil demon argument to be unsound. An argument is unsound when the premises as false and the argument is invalid. This analysis of both structure and content will eventuateRead MoreEssay on Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy2121 Words   |  9 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Descartes believes that knowledge comes from within the mind. This is a single indisputable fact to build on that can be gained through individual reflection. While seeking true knowledge, Descartes writes his Six Meditations. In these meditations, Descartes tries to develop a strong foundation, which all knowledge can be built upon. In the First Meditation, Descartes begins developing this foundation through the method of doubt. He casts doubt upon all his prev ious beliefs, including â€Å"matters