RENE DESCARTES
INTRODUCTION
Descartes has considerable contributions to mathematics, physics, metaphysics, epistemology Known as the father of modern philosophy Epistemology as first philosophy
Questions addressed:
What do I know? How do I know that I know? Is certainty in knowledge possible? How can we prove Gods existence? Does the external world exist? What is that which cannot be doubted? How do we account for the fallibility of human beings? How can we achieve truth and avoid error?
Concepts to be tackled:
Methodic doubt Dream versus reality Evil genius Credibility of our senses Cogito ergo sum Gods existence Clear and distinct ideas Truth and falsity Dualism Objections to Descartes
1. Methodic doubt
Excerpts from Meditations on First Philosophy I realized that if I wanted to establish anything in the sciences that was stable and likely to last, I needed just once in my life to demolish everything completely and start again from the foundations.
2. Dream versus reality
I realize that there is never any reliable way of distinguishing being awake from being asleep.
3. Evil genius
. . . I have for many years been sure that there is an all-powerful God who made me to be the sort of creature that I am. How do I know that he hasnt brought it about that there is no earth, no sky, nothing that takes up space, no shape, no size, no place, while making sure that all these things appear to me to exist?
4. Credibility of our senses
One source of knowledge: our senses Whatever I have accepted until now as most true has come to me through my senses. But occasionally I have found that they have deceived me, and it is unwise to trust completely those who have deceived us even once. Ex. Piece of wax
5. Cogito ergo sum
I think, therefore I am At last I have discovered it thought! This is the one thing that cant be separated from me. I am, I exist that is certain. But for how long? For as long as I am thinking.
Even then, if he is deceiving me I undoubtedly exist: let him deceive me all he can, he will never bring it about that I am nothing while I think I am something. So after thoroughly thinking the matter through I conclude that this proposition, I am, I exist, must be true whenever I assert it or think of it.
6. Gods existence
. . . The idea that gives me my understanding of a supreme God eternal, infinite, unchangeable, omniscient, omnipotent and the creator of everything that exists except for himself certainly has in it more representative reality than the ideas that represent merely finite substances.
Importance of Gods existence in Descartes project . . . I see that all other certainties depend on this one, so that without it I cant know anything for sure.
Thus I see plainly that the certainty and truth of all knowledge depends strictly on my awareness of the true God. So much so that until I became aware of him I couldnt perfectly know anything.
7. Clear and distinct ideas
- Difference between clearness and distinctness I am certain that I am a thinking thing. So I now seem to be able to lay it down as a general rule that whatever I perceive very vividly and clearly is true.
Classification of thoughts: [Link] [Link]/emotions [Link]
Ideas: [Link] [Link] outside [Link]
8. Truth and falsity
If everything that is in me comes from God, and he didnt equip me with a capacity for making mistakes, doesnt it follow that I can never go wrong in my beliefs? [Link] is impossible that God should ever deceive me b.I know from experience that I have a faculty of judgment
How do we account for the fallibility of human beings? [Link] of nothingness . . . As well as having a real and positive idea of God (a being who is supremely perfect), I also have what you might call a negative idea of nothingness (that which is furthest from all perfection).
2. Gods creations In estimating whether Gods works are perfect, we should look at the universe as a whole, not at created things one by one. But the universe as a whole may have some perfection that requires that some parts of it be capable of error while others are not. . .
3. The scope of our will Their source is the fact that my will has a wider scope than my intellect has, so that I am free to form beliefs on topics that I dont understand.
9. Dualism
So my mind is a distinct thing from my body. Furthermore, my mind is me, for the following reason. I know that I exist and that nothing else belongs to my nature or essence except that I am a thinking thing; from this it follows that my essence consists solely in my being a thinking thing.
10. Objections to Descartes
a. Cartesian circle The conclusion that a non-deceiving God exists is derived from premises that are clearly and distinctly perceived i.e., premises that are accepted because of first accepting the general veracity of propositions that are clearly and distinctly perceived The general veracity of propositions that are clearly and distinctly perceived is derived from the conclusion that a non-deceiving God exists
b. The container problem (The Allegory of the Cave) c. The bridge problem
QUESTIONS?
