Meditations 1

Question 1

Sensory Doubt

Answer 1

“I have found the senses to deceive, and it is prudent never to trust completely those who have deceived us even once”

Question 2

Does Dream Argument quote?

Answer 2

“I cannot know for certain that I am not now dreaming.”

Question 3

The aim of doubt

Answer 3

“To demolish everything completely and start again right from the foundations”

Question 4

Aim of the doubt (mind/body)

Answer 4

“withdraw the mind from the senses”

Question 5

What remains doubtless after the first two waves of doubt

Answer 5

“whether I am awake or asleep, two and three added together are five”

Question 6

Deceiving God Hypothesis

Answer 6

“how do I know that God has not brought it about that I too go wrong every time I add two and three”

Question 7

Malicious Demon Hypothesis

Answer 7

“some malicious demon of the utmost power and cunning

has employed all his energies in order to deceive me”

Question 8

Gassendi Objection

Answer 8

Our MIND is to blame the false knowledge we obtain and not the senses

Senses merely report appearances

We have a problem with the knowledge itself we obtain –> Not the senses

Descartes REPLY he still held onto his old belief in empiricism, which means relying on our senses to understand the world.

HOWEVER – whilst Descartes fiercely attacks the notion of empiricism, he uses inductive reasoning to reject empiricism.

Question 9

Bourdin objection to Descartes

Answer 9

The scope of doubt is very s –> If you doubt some things then you have to doubt everything

We must doubt doubt therefore –> methodological doubt is fundamentally irreconcilable

This is worsened by the fifth wave – the “malicious demon” wave of doubt.

BUT – perhaps the malicious demon can only warp representational reality rather than representational and formal reality, which is where truth i