Knowledge and Doubt - Descartes Flashcards
Why is Descartes going to bother?
He wants to destroy all of his knowledge and build from the ground up. He wants to prove that our senses are wrong and our knowledge is problematic.
How is Descartes going about his doubting?
He is going to destroy all his knowledge and build from the ground up, as he realised early on that much of his knowledge was false, and the beliefs that built up his false beliefs were also questionable.
What is Descartes barrel of apples analogy?
This illustrated Descartes way of thinking - he imagines his thinking and belief system as a basket full of apples with some rotten inside. It is common knowledge that one rotten apple can quickly spread to its neighbours, so it would be easier to get rid of the bad ones to preserve the health of the others. If you suspect not all the apples are good, then you should just dump all of the apples and only return the good ones to the basket.
What is the unreliability of the senses argument?
Begins by recognising one of the first principles on which foundation is founded. He finds many of his beliefs revolve around the senses. He also considers the fact that his senses have been shown to deceive him. He uses the example of how large objects seem small from far awake. He makes a point that since this sense seems to always cause regular error, then it should be the one thats thrown out. However he finds there are some senses that feel impossible to deny.
What is the dream argument?
Descartes realises dreams are similar to the delusions of a madman. When he is dreaming, he has no concept of what is real or not. He realises some dreams are so close to every day life that it poses a real problem. He reasons that his waking experience is distinct, and so gives him a reason to be certain of his wakefulness. However he then questions this when remembering he had similar thoughts in his sleep and so there are no clear signs of when you are awake or asleep.
He concludes subjects like physics and astronomy could simply be drawn from the imagination and therefore aren’t reliable. However there are some factors such as “Whether I am asleep or awake, 2+3 still equals 5” showing there are some truths he cannot doubt.
What is the deceiving God argument?
He claims to have belief of an all powerful God who made him. God could make it seem like there was things such as a sky and a earth and size and shape and so on, when in fact there is no such things. Descartes considers the fact that a deception might go against Gods good nature, however he rejects this idea because he argues that if we think such a complete deception is inconsistent with his goodness, and so we could argue we are never being deceived. However due to our senses not being reliable, God has the power to deceive anyone. This shows principles which he believed to be true even after the Dream Argument. He defends this by stating that if there was no God we would be more at risk of being completely deceived.
What is the malicious demon hypothesis?
Due to a bad habit of accepting facts to be true. Therefore, it would be best if he tries to pretend to himself that these former beliefs are not uncertain, but false. To help him find that all his previously held beliefs are false, he imagines a being as powerful as God, except evil. This being tricks him into believing things that aren’t true. It is worth noting that Descartes focuses particularly on the demon deceiving him about the nature of the world, the things he learns through sense experience. He concludes that even if he is unable to get to truths that he is seeking, he can at least believe things that aren’t true.
Descartes position at the end of Meditation I
Descartes now believes nothing is for certain. The evil demon has managed to help him consider his previous beliefs false.
What does Descartes mean by ‘Whirlpool of doubt’
Nothing is certain and he cannot find certain knowledge anywhere. He has engaged in an extreme form of doubt where he cannot claim any knowledge whatsoever, also known as diabolic doubt. In order to find certainty he needs to defeat the malicious demon.
What does Descartes mean by ‘Achimedean point”
Archimedes was an ancient Greek mathematician who claimed he could lift the Earth off its foundation if he were given a place to stand, one solid point and a long enough lever. Descartes is after an Archimedean point, a certain point of knowledge upon which he can build more knowledge.
How does Descartes arrive at the Cogito?
Descartes reasons that he must be the author of his own thoughts, for as long as he thinks he must be something. He questions whether or not he has a body and if he could exist without one. If the malicious demon is deceiving Descartes then something is being deceived. Doubting is a form of thinking. Therefore “I think therefore I am”
What are some strengths and weaknesses of Meditation 1?
STRENGTHS
-Descartes strategy is rigorous and he succeeds in being able to doubt all his beliefs by the end of Med 1
-His power allows him to doubt all a posteriori and priori knowledge.
WEAKNESSES
-Foundationalism: The belief that there is a foundation for knowledge. However other theories, such as coherentism argue there is no such thing. Coherentism claims that knowledge is a complex web of beliefs.
-Senses: He only focuses on issues to do with sight, is it fair to talk about the senses generally if its only one thats the primary focus? It seems drastic to say that one thing sometimes deceive us so we never rely on them. In response, Descartes says he agrees we need more proof at this stage in his meditation, to show senses are unreliable.
What are some strengths and weaknesses of Meditation 2?
(keywords: psychological, self, illogical, limited, thinking, circular,
-Cogito has powerful psychological appeal - it just feels right
-It’s a strong argument because Descartes is only talking about his own existence, he isn’t assuming for other people.
-It is impossible to deny because it seems illogical to deny that we exist
-Some people have found the Cogito argument convincing, yet its conclusions are extremely limited. Even if we accept the fact that I am thinking at all proves my existence, it says nothing about what I am, apart from a thinking being.
-The Cogito is circular thinking, assuming what it is trying to prove.
-can we fully trust the powers of reason and logic given the power of the evil demon? Could the reasoning used to reach the Cogito not be a deception of the evil demon? Descartes responds by suggesting its reasonable to assume we must at the very least rely on our process of reason to be trustworthy, otherwise all thought becomes impossible and we cannot embark on our meditating.
What is the clear and distinct rule?
Acquired through reason without experience. Clear perception = Accessible to the attentive mind. Distinct perception = Cannot be confused with anything else.
What are the 3 degrees of reality?
Substance - Something that can exist independently without anything else (ie a chair)
Accident - A property of a substance (ie a colour)
Mode - The determination of a property (ie rough)
