Descartes Meditation 1 Flashcards
What is A Priori knowledge?
-Does not require sense experience to know it to be true.
- Knowledge gained through logic and reason
What is an example of A Priori knowledge?
Mathematics e.g 2+2=4
What is A Posteriori knowledge ?
Knowledge gained through experience.
What is an example of A Posteriori knowledge?
There are more than 6 billion people on earth
What is rationalism?
Rationalism claims that we gain knowledge through logic and reasoning.
What is empiricism?
Empiricists claim that all our knowledge comes from experience.
What were Descartes aims for Med 1?
- To find certainty
- To establish something ‘firm and lasting’ in the sciences
- To build a theory of knowledge so strong it cannot be doubted
- To defeat the sceptics
- To show the superiority of rationalism
What is a sceptic?
Someone who believes you cannot know anything for certain and every piece of knowledge can be doubted.
What were Descartes four arguments in Med 1 ?
- The Senses argument
- The dreaming argument
- The Deceiving God argument
- The evil demon argument
What is Descartes Method of Doubt ?
“raze everything to the ground and begin again from the foundations”
The apple cart analogy - go through all his prior knowledge and throw away anything that can be doubted.
Finish the quote… “It is a mark of prudence…”
“…never to trust wholly in those who have deceived us even once”
Finish the quote… “Whatever I had admitted until now as most true…
“… I took in either from the senses or through the senses”
In the senses argument what did Descartes note?
that there were times when his senses have deceived him.
When have Descartes senses deceived him before?
When observing things far away because they look smaller than they actually are.
What does the senses argument doubt?
Some A posteriori knowledge but not all.
Was the senses argument successful and why?
Yes because it builds in reasonable steps and Descartes starts by saying that some senses may deceive us before discounting them completely.
Why should sight be questioned in the senses argument?
Because it can be deceptive as objects from far away appear smaller than they actually are.
What does the dreaming argument destroy reliance on ?
A Posteriori knowledge but not A Priori.
What are our dreams a representation of?
The reality of a physical world.
Finish the quote… “There are no definitive signs…”
“… to distinguish being awake from being asleep”
Finish the quote… “even if I am fast asleep…”
“… the truths preserved in mathematics cannot be doubted.”
When Descartes is dreaming his grasp of reality is no more certain that if he were…
…awake and insane
What did Descartes once dream?
That he was sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace when he was actually in his bed fast asleep.
What still exists in dreams?
A Priori truths like mathematical truths and geometry. Also, legs and arms because they are rooted in real likeness which shows that Descartes is still considering a physical world.
What are the strengths of the dreaming argument?
- Everyone has experienced the feeling of waking up and not knowing if they are dreaming or awake.
- It’s true to say that we sometimes mistake the dreaming experience for conscious experience when we are asleep.
What are the weaknesses of the dreaming argument?
- Even if we mistake dreaming for being conscious, we never mistake being conscious for dreaming.
- Dreams lack detail and important information as the brain cannot process so much detail and events that happen in dreams are often random and haphazard.
What is the purpose of the deceiving God argument?
To cast doubt on A Priori knowledge.
Finish the quote… “I do not know a…”
“…deceiving God does not exist”
What does Descartes consider God is deceiving him about?
Mathematical truths.
What does Descartes think God is?
- Omnipotent (all power)
- Omniscient (all knowledge)
If God is omnipotent and omniscient then what could he do?
He has the power to deceived Descartes about mathematical truths.
Why does Descartes think God wouldn’t deceive him?
Because he is omnibenevolent (all loving) and wouldn’t want to deceive Descartes.
Why is the deceiving God argument not very effective?
Because Descartes very quickly dismisses the possibility of God deceiving him which casts doubt on Descartes method of doubt because he is not being consistent.
What happens in the Evil Demon argument?
Descartes considers the existence of an evil demon who is not all loving and is determined to deceive him.
Finish the quote… “Thus I will suppose…”
“…not a supremely good God but rather an evil demon who is dedicated to spending its entire efforts to misleading me”
What does Descartes present the Evil Demon argument as and why?
He presents it as a hypothesis because he does not actually believe in the evil demon.
What does Descartes consider the evil demon is tricking him about?
A Priori truths such as mathematics and geometry.
Why is the evil demon argument Descartes most sceptical argument?
Because it makes him think about and unlikely truth and Descartes ends up in a state of hyperbolic doubt - this is what he aimed to do and it shows that his arguments have been successful.
At the end of Med 1, evaluate Descartes method of doubt
At the end of Meditation 1, it can be argued that Descartes method of doubt was rigorous and served as a very effective destructive phase.
What is wrong with Descartes method of doubt?
He is too strict because we should be able to be certain about something and have a small element of doubt. Also, his expectation of all knowledge having to be indubitable is unreasonable.
