FINAL Flashcards
What is Descartes the father of?
Modern philosophy
What is the difference between rationalism and empiricism?
Rationalism knows things through pure reason & empiricism knows things through the senses.
What is the difference between ancient and modern philosophy?
Socrates: I know that I don’t know; the ancients thought philosophy was a quest for wisdom. Moderns like Descartes argue we have wisdom as a science. Philosophy is a science.
What is scholasticism?
The predominant philosophy of the Middle Ages. Synthesized Christianity w/ Aristotle.
Who created the philosophical system of scholasticism?
Thomas Aquinas
Who is the most important philosopher of the Middle Ages?
Aristotle
What did Descartes like about the scientific revolution (Copernicus, Galileo)?
It was deductive, experimental, & mathematical
What language is the Meditations written in?
Latin
What does First Philosophy mean?
Metaphysics
What is the full title of the Meditations?
Meditations on First Philosophy: So that the existence of god may be demonstrated & the soul shown to be distinct from the body.
How many Meditations are there?
Six
Who did Descartes write the Dedicatory Letter to?
Theology Faculty in the Sorbonne
What is the easiest thing to know according to Descartes in the Dedicatory Letter?
God
What are the four stages of doubt?
- Senses
- Awake?
- Math
- Evil Genius
What does it mean to doubt?
Suspension of judgment
Why can’t you be sure you’re not dreaming right now?
Because you were mistaken before.
What specifically does the evil genius undermine your ability to do?
Math
Why can’t God be a deceiver for Descartes?
God is perfect
What is the difference between a simple and a combined science?
A simple science does not rely on the existence of bodies to be true. Combined sciences rely on the existence of bodies.
What does Descartes mean by Archimedean Point?
An unmovable point
What does Cogito Ergo Sum mean?
I think, therefore I am.
Why does Descartes doubt that we have a body, but not that we have a mind?
Once you doubt your senses & whether you’re awake or not, you can’t be sure you have a body. But you can’t doubt doubting, which is a kind of thinking.
What’s another name for a substance? What kind of substance are we? What kind of substances are material things?
A thing. We are a thinking thing. Material things are extended things. (divisible). God is an infinite thing.
What are the properties of a thinking thing?
It can doubt, understand, will, believe, imagine, & sense.
How do we know that we are a thinking thing?
Through doubting. Doubting is a kind of thinking, & you cannot doubt that you’re doubting.
What does the wax example prove for Descartes?
That we know things through our intellect & not the senses.
What is the significance of the three dreams Descartes had when visiting Bavaria?
Motivated him to break from Scholasticism once & for all.
Why did Descartes like Holland?
Quiet & Tolerant
Who asked Descartes to tutor her in Sweden?
Christina
How did Descartes die?
Bad cold
What does Descartes mean by “read book of the world”?
well-traveled
What is the difference between objective and formal reality?
Objective Reality: Idea
Formal Reality: Existence
How do we know this idea of God comes from God?
If God has infinite objective reality as an idea, he must exist, since only he could have given you the infinite idea.
What does Descartes mean by something of less reality cannot cause something of more reality to come into existence?
This is a consequence of 1) Every effect having a cause, 2) That something can’t come from nothing.
What kind of thought is the only one that has a truth value; that it can either be true or false?
Judgment
What are some of God’s attributes or qualities?
All knowing; all powerful; & all good
Why can’t Descartes be God?
Working towards perfection means you’re not absolutely perfect; he doubts.
Why are we more certain of our dependence on God for our existence than our parents?
We are not sure if our parents really exist yet, but we are absolutely sure that God does.
How much formal reality does God have? How much objective reality?
God has infinite formal reality & infinite objective reality.
What is an innate idea?
An idea that is inherent to your mind; you did not acquire it through experience.
What kind of substance is God?
Infinite substance
As finite creatures, what two things are we between?
God & nothingness
Why didn’t God give us a flawed/defective intellect or a flawed/defective will?
Because God is perfect & thus God is not a deceiver
How do mistakes happen? Whose fault is it when mistakes happen?
When we apply our judgment to things that we do not have a clear & distinct idea about. It is not God’s fault when we make mistakes, but ours when we misapply our will.
What kind of causes does Descartes say we shouldn’t worry about in physics? What kind of causes does Descartes say we should search for?
Don’t worry about teleological causes. We should search for efficient causes.
Why can’t error/evil/mistakes be real?
Because if they were real, they would be true/good.
These things lack reality; they are forms of privation.
What is the difference between God’s responsibility and cooperation when it comes to bad things?
God is not responsible for bad things, since God is perfect. However, God cooperates when bad things happen.
Why didn’t God make us perfect?
For the sake of greater perfection, there needs to be imperfect things about the universe.
What is the difference between essence and existence?
Essence = Definition/Idea/Concept
Existence is not a necessary feature of most essences.
You can have the essence of a triangle, but that doesn’t mean triangles exist
Does a clear and distinct idea necessarily have to exist? Give an example.
No, triangles
How is God not like other clear and distinct ideas?
Because God’s essence necessitates God’s existence
What is the mountain/valley example?
You can’t have a valley w/o a mountain any more than you can have God w/o existence.
What is the faculty of imagination?
What perceives bodies.
How do we know about bodies, including our own?
Through the imagination, we know that there is a world beyond our mind. It would be absurd to just sense our senses or perceive our perceptions.
What can the imagination do? What can’t it do?
can perceive bodies; can’t perceive clear & distinct ideas
What is the relationship between the imagination and the intellect?
You can have an intellect w/o the imagination; you cannot have the imagination w/o the intellect
Why don’t we have to doubt everything all over again?
- We know God exists
- We know you’re a thinking thing
- We know your imagination perceives bodies that are external to your mind
What is the difference between your mind and your body?
Mind: Immaterial substance; it is indivisible & cannot be destroyed
Body: Material substance; it is divisible & can be destroyed
How do the mind and the body interact for Descartes? What gland connects them?
Through the pineal gland
What are the two reasons you’re not dreaming right now?
Continuity
Intensity
What are some other names for the imagination?
Sensation; sense-perception
What are some other names for the intellect?
Faculty of knowing; faculty of understanding
What are some other names for the will?
Belief; judgment
Why are you not primarily your imagination?
Your imagination is directed outwardly to bodies. & you are not a body
What kind of substance is the thinking thing?
Immaterial substance (cannot be divided or destroyed)
Why does nature deceive us from time to time?
Because we are not one w/ our body & God doesn’t prevent nature from deceiving us from time to time
Why does Descartes call senses like pain confused ideas?
Bc they are not clear & distinct ideas
What was Princess Elizabeth’s criticism of Descartes’ dualism?
How can Descartes say mind & body interact if they are totally different substances?
How does the imagination tell you there is a world independent of your own thinking?
The imagination does not perceive its own perceptions. Imagination is a passive faculty. Nature is the active faculty.
Why is it easier to picture a triangle than a 10,000-sided shape?
Bc the imagination is not used to understand. It pictures things.
