Descartes Meditation 3 Flashcards
(22 cards)
Where was Descartes at the end of Med 2 ?
- He had discovered the cogito (I am, I exist)
- He only has proof that a thinking thing exists because something has to exist in order to be deceived.
- He has not proven anything else yet.
What are the aims for Med 3 ?
- To prove that Descartes physically exists.
- To further provide reason and evidence for the cogito
- To prove the existence of God
What does clear and distinct mean?
Descartes begins by considering what makes the cogito so special. Descartes has a clear and distinct perception of the cogito.
Perception - when we see things with our minds.
Clear - “present to the attentive mind. As clear as when we see things with our own eyes. It can be understood using reason or intellect.
Distinct - “So sharply separated from all other perceptions that it contains within itself only what is clear”
What is the clear and distinct rule ?
Anything else that Descartes can perceive as clear and distinct can be considered true knowledge and can be used to rebuild his theory of knowledge.
What else does Descartes want to do in Med 3?
Remind readers of his aim to build a theory of knowledge that cannot be doubted and his method of doubt and that he will continue to use it.
What are the degrees of reality?
Substance (most reality)
An accident (less reality)
Mode (least reality)
Explain substance
Anything that can exist independent of anything else.
Explain an accident
A property of a substance.
Explain mode
The determination of a property.
Give examples of degrees of reality.
Substance - table
Accident - colour
Mode - brown
What is formal reality?
The reality a thing possesses because it exists.
The sun has formal reality because it actually exists.
A unicorn has no formal reality because they don’t exist.
What is objective reality?
The kind of reality a thing possesses because it is a representation of something.
What is the Causal Adequacy Principle?
“Something cannot arise from nothing and also that what is more perfect… cannot arise from what is less perfect.
Translation - Greater things cannot come from lesser things.
What does Descartes know from the Natural Light?
That the cause of something must have as much reality as the effect.
What example does Descartes use for the CAP ?
A stone - cannot exist without being created by something which contains all that is found within a stone.
Heat - cannot be produced by something that was not hot.
What is the trademark argument?
This is when Descartes tries to prove the existence of God. He says that his mind is finite but God is infinite. Something that is finite and less good can’t create something infinite and better, therefore, his mind did not create God and so God is real.
What are the criticisms of Med 3?
- Descartes needs God to build up the Cogito and prove that he exists and to move past the cogito, without God he faces a dead end.
What is the issue with the trademark argument?
It relies on our innate idea of God and perfection and infinite.
What is the issue with the Causal Adequacy Principle?
Some lesser things can create bigger things. For example, whisper cause avalanches or a matchstick causing a huge fire.
What is Descartes response to the criticisms of the CAP?
The match and the fire are both substances so they both have the same amount of reality.
The avalanche is not just caused by whispers but by an accumulation of things.
What are the issues with degrees of reality?
- The concept of having more or less reality does not make sense and it is an outdated view.
- What makes sense is that they either exist or they don’t
- This undermines Descartes reasoning for God because you have to rely on degrees of reality otherwise Descartes’ whole argument would collapse.
What is the issue with innate ideas?
People have different ideas of God.
