REASON- Intutuion And Deduction Flashcards
(8 cards)
What were Descartes four rules for gaining knowledge
Accept only beliefs that can be recognised clearly and distinctly to be true.
Break problems down into the smallest parts.
Build up the arguments systematically in the right order (deduction).
Carefully check to ensure no steps are left out
What is meant by a clear idea
If it’s bright and present in the mind
What is a distinct idea
An idea that is sharply separated from others
Examples of clear and distinct ideas
Leg pain: might be very clear to the one afflicted but it isn’t distinct, as it may be hard to distinguish the pain from the true cause. The suffer may be wrong about what is causing it.
The examples of ideas that is both clear and distinct such as I am thinking and 2+3=5
What is intuition according to Descartes
The ability to know something is true by just looking at it
An act of intellect whereby it inwardly ‘looks upon’ an intellectual object, such as a triangle or straight line, and instantly sees its true features.
A key operation of the mind
A clear and distinct idea is when the object is ‘perceived’ by the intuition. Eg. 2+3=5 would be clear and distinct which the mind intuits is true
What is the criticism of terms are not clear and distinct enough
Leibniz criticised Descartes by suggesting that a more detailed account of ‘clear and distinct’ is needed if the terms are to be sued as a criteria of truth and relying on feelings isn’t enough.
What is the criticism of it being a quick generalisation
Descartes suggested the success of the cogito was due to the fact that it’s truth can be grasped clearly and distinctly. He then generalised this principle and claims that any belief he can conceive clearly and distinctly must also be true. But is this a generalisation that should be made?
What is the criticism of only internal criteria for truth
The correspondence theory of truth suggests that a belief (internal to you) is true when it corresponds to a fact (external truth). However, Descartes claims we can tell if a belief is true using internal means alone (how clear and distinct it is). Ryle suggests this approach is mistaken- a bit like working out if you have scored a goal just by checking how well you kicked the ball (not by seeing whether it goes in)
