🟢| K&D - Descartes Meditation 3 Evaluation Flashcards
(12 cards)
1
Q
Clear & Distinct Rule:
Weaknesses
2
A
- Subject to Human Error
- Invalid Rule
2
Q
Trademark Argument:
Weaknesses
5
A
- Lack of Belief
- Causal Adequacy Principle
- Innate Ideas
- God’s Deception
- Implications of Evil Demon
3
Q
Overall Weakness
A
Cartesian Circle (Circular Reasoning)
4
Q
Clear & Distinct Weaknesses:
Subject to Human Error
3
A
- Descartes’ previous logic makes it possible for us to doubt what we have identified as clear and distinct knowledge
- Meditation 1 focuses on doubting our supposed knowledge due to unreliability in senses and logic, so it feels illogical for Descartes to go from this to trusting us
- Descartes doesn’t explain how we can guarantee clear and distinct perceptions, which makes his rule useless as we can’t apply it to find our own knowledge even if Descartes managed this for himself
5
Q
Clear & Distinct Weaknesses:
Invalid Rule
5
A
- Rule can be argued as invalid due to Descartes’ generalisation
- Example: if someone observed a pink pig and generalised that all pigs were pink this would be invalid - clear and distinct rule applies this logic
- Perhaps Descartes was wrong to identify clear and distinct as his feature - he could have picked self-verifying as a better general rule
- HOWEVER, this wouldn’t have gotten us far as not many pieces of knowledge are this, and the pieces that are don’t allow us to build from them
- Can be questioned if Descartes should’ve used the cogito as his foundation for knowledge?
6
Q
Trademark Argument Weaknesses:
Lack of Belief
3
A
- There is a lack of belief in God nowadays - number of believing people has decreased significantly over the years
- Not the majority, but still a significant enough amount to question plausibility of Descartes’ theory
- Without God, the meditations can’t progress beyond the cogito which would make Descartes unsuccessful in building upon his foundation
7
Q
Trademark Argument Weaknesses:
Lack of Belief - Counter Argument
2
A
- Although things have progressed beyond only religious reasoning, not a good enough reason to outlaw Meditation 3
- Descartes provides a logical argument using his mind to prove God exists - he doesn’t just depend on belief, but he is focusing on the certainty of God’s existence
8
Q
Trademark Argument Weaknesses:
Causal Adequacy Principle
5
A
- Descartes’ argument for God must be strong to outweigh lack of belief
- Argument stems from causal adequacy principle, but there are real life occurences which challenge the principle (causes having less reality than the effect)
- Examples: we can light a bonfire with a match, we can cause an avalanche with whisper vibrations
- If this principle is uncertain, as is Descartes’ proof for God’s existence
- Evidently realistic to doubt the principle, so Descartes’ argument is much weaker
9
Q
Trademark Argument Weaknesses:
Innate Ideas
5
A
- Other philosophers have argued against innate ideas which would disprove Descartes’ argument
- Examples: John Locke’s blank slate analogy, Hume’s copy principle
- If innate ideas are a false concept and we take these theories to be true, Descartes’ argument eliminated entirely
- Rejection of innate ideas related to God is plausible - if God was innate, surely there wouldn’t be so many beliefs as multiple trademarks make less sense
- If God isn’t innate, we must question where Descartes’ idea has come from - is God invented by his mind to suit his purposes, or placed by the evil deceiver?
10
Q
Trademark Argument Weaknesses:
God’s Deception
2
A
- Descartes assumes that deception must be a flaw which a perfect being cannot be capable of, but maybe God has perfect reasons for choosing to deceive us?
- Descartes doesn’t provide any reason as to why this couldn’t be the case, so not impossible
11
Q
Trademark Argument Weaknesses:
Implications of Evil Demon
3
A
- Descartes again doesn’t fully consider the implications of the evil deceiver in his argument for God
- If we are to take the evil deceiver seriously then we need to accept that Descartes’ logical arguments for God are open to doubt unless a good God exists
- Casting doubt on God means that our reliance on reason can be rejected
12
Q
Overall Weakness:
Cartesian Circle (Circular Reasoning)
4
A
- For Descartes to establish the reliability of reason he needs to prove that a good God exists, but to know that God exists in the first place he needs to know that his mind is reliable
- Descartes needs the existence of God to prove clear and distinct judgements as true, but he needs to rely on such ideas to prove God via his trademark argument
- Descartes can’t prove both things without the other, which causes a logical error in his argument
- Hard to counter argue as we can clearly see how Descartes’ reasoning fails him - he has carelessly created these two concepts without properly considering the implications that come with their logic
