🟢| K&D - Descartes Meditation 2 Evaluation

Question 1

Strengths

2

Answer 1

• Self-Authenticating
• Mind/Body Dualism

Question 2

Weaknesses

3

Answer 2

• Evil Demon & Use of Logic
• Evil Demon & Use of Language
• Use of ‘I’ & Ideas of the Self

Question 3

Strengths:

Self-Authenticating

2

Answer 3

• It is a self-authenticating statement because it is contradictory to say, ‘I don’t exist’
• Therefore makes the cogito seem like a plausible piece of certain knowledge.

Question 4

Strengths:

Mind/Body Dualism

2

Answer 4

• Helps Descartes support his belief in mind/body dualism
• He argued that him being more certain of the existence of himself as a thinking thing than a physical body is evidence that there is a division between the mind and the body

Question 5

Weaknesses:

Evil Demon & Use of Logic

4

Answer 5

• Cogito appears self-evidently true, but there are clear logical steps involved in the argument
• Evil demon hypothesis means we must doubt the reliability of logic, so how can we call the cogito certain knowledge?
• Evil demon could be deceiving Descartes into thinking that the cogito is self-evidently true, or that thinking requires a thinker
• Casts doubt on Descartes use of reason to overcome his doubts via the cogito

Question 6

Weaknesses:

Evil Demon & Use of Logic - Counter Argument

2

Answer 6

• This applies more to Descartes’ classic argument ‘I think, therefore I am’ and the formulation from the meditations, ‘I am, I exist’ is immune
• ‘I am, I exist’ is not an argument and should be understood as an undeniable self-evident proposition – there are no logical steps or premises for the evil demon to deceive.

Question 7

Weaknesses:

Evil Demon & Use of Language

4

Answer 7

• For the cogito to work it could be argued that Descartes must have had at his disposal a list of fundamental language conceps
• He must have known what ‘thought’, ‘doubt’, ‘existence’ etc is to put these ideas together and create the cogito
• We can’t be sure of the meanings of these concepts when applying the evil demon, so maybe we can’t be sure the cogito is a necessary concept after all
• Shows inconsistency in Descartes applying his concepts - claims cogito is his certain knowledge, but this isn’t logical when the cogito doesn’t properly consider what the evil demon causes Descartes to doubt

Question 8

Weaknesses:

Use of ‘I’ & Ideas of the Self

4

Answer 8

• Several philosophers have made valid comments criticising Descartes cogito and the solidity of it
• A.J Ayer: argued against claim that for there to be thoughts there must be a thinker – the evil demon could cast doubt on this, like how the evil demon casts doubt on the cogito in previous weaknesses which aren’t considered by Descartes, so Descartes should’ve stopped at ‘there are thoughts’ since this is all he could truly know.
• Georg Lichtenberg: said that ‘I think’ contains more than what we can be certain of, so at most we can say ‘it thinks’.
• Fair criticisms of Descartes’ cogito as they highlight how he doesn’t thoroughly apply the evil demon hypothesis since he is not considering the sheer number of things the evil demon casts doubt upon