René Descartes’ notion of ‘clear and distinct ideas’.

Question 1

clear ideas

Answer 1

a concept that is bright and accessible to the attentive mind
they are intuitions

Question 2

distinct ideas

Answer 2

a concept that is sharply separated from other concepts ie it is not confused with other concepts

Question 3

criticism include? for essays

Answer 3

terms are not clear and distinct enough
quick generalisation
only internal criteria for truth

Question 4

clear and distinct ideas are not clear and distinct enough

Answer 4

Leibniz claims that relying on a feeling isn’t enough.
lol add more.

Leibniz criticised Descartes suggesting that a more detailed account of clear and distinct is needed if these terms are to be used as criteria o truth. relying on a feeling is not enough. Descartes does not give a sufficiently clear and distinct account of what is clear and distinct.

Question 5

quick generalisation

Answer 5

Descartes establishes clear and distinct ideas as a criterion of truth based on the cogito or knowledge of his own existence. He claims that he knows that he exists clearly and distinctly he then claims anything that he understands clearly and distinctly as the cogito must also be true. But is this a valid generalisation to make?

Descartes puts the success of the cogito down to the fact that its truth can be grasped clearly and distinctly. he then generalises these principles and claims that any belief he can conceive clearly and distinctly must also be true. but is this a valid generalisation to make?

Question 6

Only internal criteria for truth

Answer 6

Ryle claims using internal means alone to arrive at the truth is not enough (it would be like thinking you’ve scored a goal just by considering how well you kicked the ball) According to the correspondence theory of truth, we must check whether our ideas fit the facts- relying on the idea being clear and distinct is not enough.

the correspondence theory of truth suggests a belief internal to you is true when it corresponds to a fact external to you. however, Descartes claims we can tell if a belief is true using internal means alone and how clear and distinct it is. Ryle suggests this approach is mistaken a bit like working out if you have scored a goal just y checking how well you kicked the ball not by seeing whether it goes in.