Descartes Meditations
... Descartes then turns to reflect on what he perceives by means of the sense. He perceives that he has a body (composed of head, hands, feet, etc) that exists by which his body can be affected in various beneficial and harmful ways such as pleasure, pain, emotion, hunger, etc. Also Descartes can perceive other bodies with extension, shape, movement, hardness, heat, color, smell, taste, etc. Descartes thinks that since the ideas of these qualities that presented themselves to his thought (which he properly and immediately sensed), it was without doubt that he thought he sensed things that were obviously different from his own thought, namely the bodies from which these ideas proceeded. Descartes knew through experience that these ideas came upon him involuntary to the extent that he couldn't sense any object unless it was presented through a sense organ. The ideas perceived by the sense were much more vivid than the perceptions he deliberately creates in his own mind. Additionally, it would be odd to suggest that he can involuntary create perceptions so much more vivid than the ones he creates voluntarily. And if they come from without, it is only natural to suppose that the source of these sensory ideas in some way resemble the ideas themselves. Moreover, Descartes believed that it seemed impossible that these perceptions came from himself. The only reasonable alternative was that these perceptions came from an outside source (God). From this point of view, it is very easy to convince oneself that all knowledge comes from without by means of the senses. (F) Descartes now presents his most problematic argument of the mind and body. Descartes argues that the mind (i.e. thinking) can be clearly and distinctly understood without the body (i.e. extension). He proclaims that he has a body that is very closely joined to him, nevertheless, because on one hand he has a clear and distinct idea of himself, insofar as he is merely a thinking thing and not an extended thing, and on the other hand he has a distinct idea of a body, insofar, as it is merely an extended thing and not a thinking thing (meaning if the body (i.e. extension) can be clearly and distinctly understood without the mind (i.e. thinking) and visa versa, then it is possible for the mind and the body to exist without each other). Therefore, it is a logical possibility for the mind to exist without the body. (G) Descartes second real distinction argument is that there is a great difference between a mind and a body in that the essence of a body, by its very nature is clearly and distinctly understood to be divisible. And the essence of the mind is clearly and distinctly understood to be indivisible. Descartes is only a thinking thing for when he is considering the mind, hence he cannot distinguish any parts within himself; rather Descartes understands himself to be manifestly one complete thing. If the essences of the mind and body have contradictory features, then they are completely diverse or have different essences. Since the mind and body are diverse and all completely diverse essences can exist without each other meaning that the body is essentially extended and the mind is non-extended, Descartes concludes that the mind can exist without the body. (H) In Descartes ruling out of the distinction between imagination and perception, I think that this argument is not sound. He gives a valuable argument for the distinction between the imagination and conception, but his line of reasoning is only probable, however, since he cannot rule out another way of explaining the nature if imagining. Since we can conceive of primary objects (Triangles), then such object possibly exists. Since we can also imagine these objects, then such objects possibly exist, yet we cannot say for sure whether they do exists. (I) As with the imagination not being required for his own essence of his mind, being connected with the body, and allowing the mind to picture corporeal things, this argument is not sound either. The reason being is that he purposely states that he does not see how the distinct idea of corporeal nature that resides in his imagination can enable him to develop an argument that necessarily concludes that some body exists. (J) In his statement about the senses, this argument isn't sound. Descartes recalls how he gradually lost all confidence in the reliability of these sense perceptions with 3 steps to this doubting process. First, Descartes exclaims that we are misguided by optical illusions like for example the explanation of Professor Skirry being as tall as the measurement between our fingers. Second, he states that our perceptions may be dream states. Everything we have sensed while we were awake, we could've also sensed while asleep. Since we do not believe that what we seem to sense in our dreams comes to us from things external to us, we see no reason why we should hold this belief about the things we seem to be sensing while awake. And third, God (or some other being with the requisite powers) might be deceiving us. He recalls that external sensations seem to arise from a source outside of himself, since such sensations don't depend on his will. However, he might have a faculty that is the source seemingly external sensations and not know it. (K) Descartes argument is that a clear and distinct conception allows one to grasp things properties as essential. The problem ...