Kant's Criticisms of Descartes Flashcards
How does Kant criticise Descartes in terms of predicates?
Kant says that existence is not a predicate because it does not add to our understanding of God e.g. i might say that someone is tall dark and handsome, but saying they exist does not add anything to the list of characteristics
What was Kant’s second argument?
We must first establish the existence of something before we can say what it is like. We cannot regard something as a priori (logically necessary). For Kant, all existential statements are synthetic and require verification, not analytic (true by definition alone)
What did Kant say about a triangle?
Yes, it is logically necessary for a triangle to have three sides, but it is not necessary for the triangle to exist in reality. Existence may be an intrinsic part of a Supremely Perfect Being, but that being does not have to exist in reality. We can reject both the object and its predicates.
How did Hume criticise Descartes?
If we can conceive of things existing then we can also conceive of them not existing. We cannot say something ‘necessarily exists’ or define something into existence
How did Russell criticise Descartes?
Existence is only meaningful if it refers to an “instance” of something. For example, we see an “instance” of cows but not unicorns. If exists was a predicate this syllogism would be true: Men exist, Santa Claus is a man, and therefore Santa Claus exists.
