René Descartes Meditations Essay - 1116 Words

Renà © Descartes Meditations Renà © Descartes’ argument that he does not know his piece of wax through his senses is rather straightforward. First, his sensory perceptions of the wax are its color, scent, sound, texture, temperature and the like. However, these purported properties of the wax are not constant; if the wax is brought close to a flame, its color, sound, texture and all the rest will change. Nevertheless, Descartes claims, no one would deny that the object now by the fire is the same wax that was first away from the fire. Descartes implies that it is evident and obvious that the wax, though its appearance to the senses is wholly changed, is still the same wax. Let us grant this. Because the wax is still the same wax even†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Flexibility† and â€Å"mutability† refer to the wax’s ability to take on any of an indefinite number of shapes—indeed, an infinite number. We cannot know these properties of the wax through our imaginations beca use our imagination is incapable of cataloguing all the possible shapes the wax may take. (The imagination, remember, consists in discrete mental images of the wax with certain shapes.) Likewise, with the property of â€Å"extension†Ã¢â‚¬â€we cannot imagine all of the sundry sizes and dimensions of which the wax is capable of taking, but nevertheless we know that it has this same ability. Because we cannot account fully for the three essential properties of the wax with our imagination we conclude that we do not know the wax through our imagination. The wax, so conceived, is merely a substance with the essential properties of being extended, flexible, and mutable—properties general enough that the wax can be taken to stand for a generic, supposedly physical, objects. Descartes concludes that he knows the wax through â€Å"an inspection of the mind† alone. To understand this reasoning, first note that by this point in the Meditations, Descartes is operating under the understanding that, insofar as he knows, he is only a thinking thing. Therefore, if we perceive, we do so with powers that are innate in us as a thinking thing. These powers of thought are earlier enumerated to include the capacity to doubt, understand, affirm, deny, will, refuse, sense, and imagine.Show MoreRelated The Meditations by Rene Descartes1003 Words   |  5 PagesIn Descartes’ Meditations, his goal to prove the existence of things could only be accomplished if he was logical, clear, and correct in his thoughts and writings. The most important issues he noted were the threat of being deceived and the potential of being incorrect in his judgments, both of which would lead him into error. Error exists as a problem that individuals encounter on a regular basis, and it also exists as a focal point in Descartes’ Meditations. Descartes defines error as â€Å"a privationRead MoreThe Meditations of Rene Descartes Essay493 Words   |  2 PagesThe Meditations of Rene Descartes In 1916 Rene Descartes wrote What I wish to finish is . . . an absolutely new science enabling one to resolve all questions proposed on any order of continuos or discontinuous quantities. (p8 Methods Meditations). He made this ambitious statement at the young age of twenty-three. Renes ambition would take him far but it kept him from becoming the Aristotle of the modern age. The Meditations were an attempt to solve the many questions about life, existenceRead MoreRene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy1234 Words   |  5 Pages In Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes does and experiment with wax to try to prove that things actually exist in this world. This essay is going to prove how we can tell that things actually exist and what can perceive the wax. Rene Descartes starts off with a description of the wax so he can prove to us the changes that will happen throughout his experiment. â€Å"Let us take, for instance, this piece of wax. It has been taken quite recently from theRead 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 previous beliefs, including â€Å"mattersRead MoreBeliefs Beyond Doubt, What All Other Respond To: Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy1998 Words   |  8 PagesRene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy is considered to be one of the most important works in modern philosophy. John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and coun tless other philosophers wrote largely in response to Descartes. Yet there are serious doubts related to the treatises major argument. In the Objections and Replies, a collection of objections to the work along with Descartes personal and often very detailed replies to said objections, the philosopher Antoine Arnauld raises the question of whetherRead MoreThe Meditations By Rene Descartes1384 Words   |  6 PagesRenà © Descartes main goal in the Meditations is to establish that one exists and that a perfect God exists. However, he first argues that the idea that everything perceived around one could be false because the senses are sometimes deceiving. In the first Meditation, Descartes introduces skepticism and brings forth a method of doubt in which he evaluates his beliefs, and questions whether they are true or false and why they should be doubted. He presents various hypothesis that prove there is reasonRead MoreDescartes First Meditations By Rene Descartes1352 Words   |  6 PagesIn Renà © Descartes’ First Meditations, he introduces three main sceptical arguments for the possibility of doubt: illusion, dreaming and error. Descartes’ purpose in his First Meditations is to define knowledge by placing doubt on the sceptical arguments capacity to provide truth. In this essay, I will focus on the argument from dreaming. There are many objections against the argument; therefore I will assess the soundness of the argument and whether it establishes universal doubt based on the plausibilityRead MoreMeditations On First Philosophy By Rene Descartes Essay839 Words   |  4 PagesPrà ©ciso of Meditations on First Philosophy Through his series of books, Meditations on First Philosophy, Renà © Descartes enlightens his philosophical ideas about knowledge in which we should discard all belief we aren’t absolute certain about and establishes what we know for sure. In the introduction he clarifying the main ideas of each of the 6 books and using to them build up to his belief. Starting with the First Meditations, he discusses about doubt. He believed that there are no real foundationsRead MoreThe Meditations On First Philosophy By Rene Descartes916 Words   |  4 Pages The Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes is a thorough analysis about doubt. Descartes describes his method of doubt to determine whether he can truly know something. One of his major arguments is the proof of the existence of God. In this paper, I will attempt to unravel the flaws in Descartes proof that God exists. In the meditations, Descartes evaluates whether or not everything we know is a reality or a dream. Descartes claims that we can only be sure that our beliefs are trueRead MoreMeditations On First Philosophy By Rene Descartes1062 Words   |  5 PagesIn Meditations on First Philosophy, Renà © Descartes philosophies made a substantial advancement in enabling us to understand the world around us by querying many of the Aristotelian doctrines that are still being discussed in philosophy today. He attempts to answer the question; can you fully trust your senses? Descartes uses methodological doubt, which is a process of being skeptical about truths of someone’s belief to revoke from his senses. In Meditation One: Concerning Those Things That Can Be