Descartes
- a collection of revision notes
Libertarian-Left Collective – Notes on
Philosophy
Table of Contents
Introduction
Background…………………………………………………………..1
Meditation 1…………………………………………………………2
Meditation 2…………………………………………………………5
Mediation 3………………………………………………………….8
Meditation 4………………………………………………………13
Meditation 6………………………………………………………16
Introduction
Descartes’ Meditations form the first part of the second
semester’s module ‘Descartes, Thought and Reality’. This
allows the emphasis to be placed on how he impacted
western philosophy, particularly in the areas of thought and
reality, demonstrated through a further study of Thomas
Nargel, Edmond Husserl, Merleu-Ponte, Sigmund Freud
and Friedrich Nietzche in the second part of the module.
The exam at the end of the year will consists of two onehour questions, one to be answered on Descartes’
philosophy and another on one the input those he
influenced on related topics.
1
Background
Descartes (1596 – 1650) appears at the bridge between
two eras, and thus acts in part as such. Being brought
up in a scholiast, Catholic background he was initially
a product of this mentality.
With the emergence of the scientific revolution,
however, Descartes along with other pioneers in
science and thought engaged with the school of
skeptics. Truth was to based and discovered by a
scientific method of proof and progression through
doubt, and the true nature of human existence thus reexamined. Stages and directionality are thus essential
tools in harnessing doubt.
2
Meditation 1
Theme:
The first Meditation is geared towards identifying why and
how we should doubt, the beginning stage to that of the
bound being in Plato’s Cave.
This process is presented as a journey of sorts, as it coheres
with the a key Cartesian notion referred to as the ‘Tree of
Knowledge’ – where all that is known bases itself on the
following: metaphysics, physics and the other sciences.
Meditations
1
3
Features:
Descartes emphasises the importance of truth and
methodological thinking over illusion and deception, often
reverting to metaphors such as light and darkness to
highlight this.
The mind is given priority over the body in importance to
reflect such a way of thinking, which is essential to his
method of advancing in stages. Meditation 1 is divided
into four.
Meditations
1
a. Retreat from the Senses
b. Madness and Dreaming
Our senses are not flawless
and may deceive us. To find
truth we must doubt them
and begin anew.
4
Former dismissed. Realises
that dreaming is not an
issue, as 1 + 1 still = 2 and
that it can only consist of
elements of reality.
d. Evil Genius Hypothesis
If God is perfect, and we are
being deceived, there must
be a deceiver who sets out
to do so. The former must
be followed to free one’s self
from the latter.
c. The example of the Painters
As what we see in our
dreams is a mosaic of what
we see in the waking world.
Thus, there is a waking
world.
Meditations
1
5
Meditation 2
Themes:
Having highlighted the senses’ role in deceiving the mind,
Descartes moves on to engaging the pressing possibility
that he is indeed merely a brain in a jar, that neither he or
anyone else exists. The aim in this module is to verify
human existence as a real phenomenon.
A study is also conducted on the nature of the human
mind itself, in order to further understand how he can
exist as an ‘I’ at all.
Meditations
1
2
6
Features:
One will notice a regular appeal to the notions of innate,
fundamental awareness. This allows to Descartes to
establish a connection with the realm of the divine, which
holds within it undoubtable truth. The steps he takes to
reach a conclusion are in the opposite order from
Scholastics.
The wax example plays an important role in this stage of
the meditations, for it reflects on the nature of the human
race’s comprehension of things and the complications
involved.
Meditations
1
2
7
The concept of ‘I think therefore I am’ will be used as a
foundation for all of Descartes’ arguments henceforth.
Descartes confirms his existence in the following manner:
1.
God must have given him the ability to think such thoughts in the first
place, he must therefore exist as a ‘receiver’
Proof That I Exist
2.
Mind exists because thought does, and it is the mind, not the body that
can think. Here therefore exists as a consciously thinking being.
What I Am
3. As only mind, using reason and intellect and judgment, can allocate
identity beyond form, it must have an innate idea of what a body is.
Existence as a ‘Thinking Thing’
Meditations
1
2
8
Meditation 3
Themes:
This chapter in Descartes’ search for truth concentrates on
reinforcing a key element of his theories – the existence of a
non-deceiving god. Such a concept will allow him to explore
the notions of an existing past, present and future as well
as other things, beyond the cogito.
In this part of the Meditations, Descartes examines the
nature of ideas, so as to firstly see how they relate to our
notion of ‘god’ and secondly to reveal the manner with
which humans are duly affected by it.
Meditations
1
2
3
9
Features:
In order to tackle the difficulties concerning the concept of
an idea, Descartes makes use of a wide range of
philosophical terminology. This allows him to efficiently
piece together a two-part argument justifying the existence
of God.
Metaphors and drama continue to play an important role
in the text, extending from the medium of light to that of
water – in this case whirlpools – and generating emotive
imagery to facilitate the comprehension of his points.
Meditations
1
2
3
10
To be able to understand Descartes’ two proofs arguing that god
exists, a brief explanation of each term is necessary.
Ideas: images and impressions of things that exist in the mind, which may or
may not be representations of the truth.
- Innate (ideas): ideas that are placed or exist naturally within the mind
Light of Nature: the innate ability to conceive knowledge, the apex of reason
and
understanding.
Teachings of Nature: aspects of nature that inspire claims to knowledge,
conducted through the application of empiricism.
Meditations
1
2
3
11
Formal reality (of an idea): the nature of an idea’s existence, irrespective of its
origin and what it represents. All human ideas have same degree of formality.
Objective reality (of an idea): that which the idea resembles or reflects. There
are different degrees of objectivity between ideas, as they focus on different
things.
Efficient cause: the source, whatever it may be, that brings about a specific
event (e.g. the wax melted because it was hot).
Total cause: the only reason behind the occurrence of the event (e.g. the wax
melted because the candle was lit)
Meditations
1
2
3
12
Descartes, having employed the terminology required, forms two
cosmological proofs to support his claim that god exists. The
term ‘cosmological’ is used, as he aims to structure his arguments
by demonstrating the relationship between cause and effect.
2
1
I have an idea of what God is
Nothing else can give me this idea
Only such a being can give me this
idea of itself
Nothing else can preserve me as a
thinking thing
If I have a total cause, then I have
an object reality: the being is real.
Elimination = only God can do
both of the above
Meditations
1
2
3
13
Meditation 4
Themes:
Descartes’ encounters a problem towards the end of
Meditation 3. If, as he claims, God is not out to deceive
him, why then is he subject to deception? The subject
matter of Mediation 4 is thus ‘Concerning the True and the
False’.
The nature of the mind is thus called into question once
again, as Descartes identifies the roles of judgment, will
and understanding to be components of the mind and
how it interprets things.
Meditations
1
2
3
4
14
Features:
The constant breaking down of all concepts to find truth,
one of Descartes’ defining characteristics, is put to practice
every time he encounters a problem or expands into a new
area of knowledge. This example of in-depth analysis is
present in his re-definition of what the mind is and how it
relates to truth.
Descartes proceeds to solving the problem of why he errs by,
having result of explaining the nature and role of all the
mind’s components, suggesting how each of these can
interact to avoid mistakes.
Meditations
1
2
3
4
15
Some terms to consider in order to understand what the
‘Two Causes of Error’ are:
Intellect: that which allows ideas to Will: that which drives us
be conceived and later judged.
to judge true or false
Error = when will extends further then understanding, it is
applied to that which is not yet understood. This leads to
mistaken judgment (will > understanding).
Solution = when will is used within parameters of
understanding, as a method, to make accurate judgments (will
= understanding).
Meditations
1
2
3
4
16
Meditation 6
Themes:
Having proven that he and God exist, and that there is a
method to finding truth, what remains to be established is
whether things beyond the above are real. The last
Meditation is thus dedicated to ‘…the Existence of Material
Things, and the Distinction between Mind and Body’.
Emphasis will be given to the concept of imagination and
the senses, and their role in the perception and conception of
the external world, concluding with an examination of
Cartesian Dualism.
Meditations
1
2
3
4
5
6
16
Features:
The last Meditation features an inquest into the ‘material
world’ and whether or not it exists. Unlike previous
chapters, he can already identify that he has the capacity to
recognise that he has an idea of the material world, and
simply has to prove whether or not it is real.
It is important that an external world can be proved to
exist, as the concept of being can be proven to be a constant,
independent of the individual.
Meditations
1
2
3
4
5
6
16
Descartes first starts by identifying the faculties of
imagination and the senses, passive and impure, as they
function externally to the pure rationality – intellect – and
will. Intellect in turn is weighed against imagination, as the
two step from separate faculties of the mind.
Problem = when does the imaginations’ ability to conceive fail
to meet the intellects’ capacity to perceive?
Solution = we can know that a) whatever the imagination
conjures, it must be based on a reality and b) the fact that this
concept is involuntary must mean that it exists
Meditations
1
2
3
4
5
6
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