Descartes Flashcards
Outline the demon theory in Descartes meditations.
The concept is that there is a demon who is controlling everyone on Earth but we are unaware this is happening.
This can also be described as the “brains in vats” scenario where everybody is being fed information through electrical signals that determine the world in which we call our reality.
Outline the dream theory in Descartes meditations.
The idea is that our entire existence is actually a dream and non of what we call reality has ever actually happened but it’s just something we will eventually awaken from.
What is skepticism and how does it relate to the meditations?
Skepticism is the method of doubting everything we see and scaling it all back so we can try to interpret reality for what it really is.
This was how Descartes imagined his theories during the meditations as he said to never trust reality.
For what reason did Descartes not trust the senses?
He believed that because the senses have previously deceived us and have the ability to do so that we should never trust the incoming information they give us.
Examples could be:
- Mirages such as an oasis
- An obscured pencil in water
- False hearings and echoes we think we are hearing
What did Descartes talk about in terms of mind and body?
Descartes claimed that the mind and body were seperate entities and therefore the feedback we receive from the shouldn’t be trusted.
This is described as mind-body dualism saying that they have nothing in common while drawing a sharp distinction between the two and they shouldn’t be compared because of their marked differences.
With what purpose does Descartes seek to strip away all the knowledge he has already accumulated?
So he can build up a base of reliable knowledge from the ground up coming from sources that are trustworthy and not merely as unpredictable as the mind or body which can easily deceive him and mayn’t provide a good source of knowledge.
What does “Cogito Ergo Sum” mean?
“I think therefore I am”
The only thing Descartes is certain of is the fact he is able to think. He is only certain of one thing which is that there can be no certainty to anything that people are thinking.
Why does Descartes trust the mind more than the body?
He deemed that the mind has the ability to think which is more powerful than simply the feedback which comes from the body making the mind a stronger influence although still not to be trusted.
What is the aim of the demon in Descartes idea?
The demon’s purpose is to deceive everybody that the real world exists and is tangible when in fact it is fake.
He creates an illusion of flesh, blood, nature, animals and the environment to paint a false picture of reality to allude Earth’s inhabitants of their subjective experience.
How does the “Brain in a vat” work?
The concept is that:
Everyone’s brains are soaked in vats of liquid that are being fed information from a machine or computer. These electrical signals and impulses determine what reality is being fed to us.
Someone is controlling what subjective reality we all experience which relates to the idea of an evil demon alluding everyone to a false reality.
Sometimes this person is said to be an omnipotent God who has ultimate control over the planet.
These to ideas have similar lines of reasoning.
What would be the purpose of believing in the brain vats or demon scenario?
To reinforce the idea of global skepticism and that we shouldn’t simply trust what we see as reality as there could be something far more sinister or elaborate behind things which are
