Summary of Descartes’ cogito argument
Part 1
Descartes feels a need for a proper methodology of thinking when he first encounters the problem of uncertainty, that is, he realizes that whatever we know cannot be trusted as we know most of the things through our senses, however senses being deceptive, cannot be trusted completely for knowledge acquisition. To support his argument, he says that the things we think we sense through our senses are not very different from the sensations we experience when we are dreaming. Therefore, Descartes claims that it is indeed difficult to determine whether what we experience is something in reality or just a fragment of a dream. This, Descartes says, is truer for empirical data that we need to avail through our senses than the knowledge we have of mathematics and geometry, etc., as these seem to be self-evident or rather, axiomatic truths and hence they do not rely heavily on their existence, in reality, to be considered as true.
However, let us assume that there is a malevolent, malicious demon-like being who intends to keep us deceived forever. In this case, it is possible for us to doubt even the validity of such self-evident axiomatic truths. In such a situation, we cannot be certain regarding any aspect of existence at all. The physical reality, movement, bodies, space, etc, nothing at all exists in this hypothetical case and either one is dreaming or is deceived about everything by this malicious demon. Let us assume that "I" (here Descartes talking about himself, but which can be applied to any individual), have neither a body nor senses. From this, one may question whether one doesn’t exist at all since it won’t be possible to exist without a body or senses? However, here comes the central logic in Descartes metaphysics which serves as a foundation for his cogito argument. He says that even if we believe that one’s body doesn’t exist, there still has to be something which is capable of being persuaded about its own non-existence. Even in the case that one is eternally deceived, there is something which is getting deceived and hence through this logic, any claim which states that nothing exists at all would be self-contradictory since there is some entity which even if doesn’t exist in any bodily form, is conscious of itself being deceived or its reverse. For this has to be an “I” which is capable of being deceived and this would prove its existence. However, the second question which remains to be answered is the form in which the entity which is conscious, may exist. The existence of body is already a matter of doubt and uncertainty. The only certainty is the fact that there is some entity which thinks and which doubts. Therefore, thinking itself is beyond doubt. In fact, to think itself implies the existence of the one who thinks of himself to be existing. Then again, Descartes says that one may exist only while one thinks and could cease to exist as soon as one stops thinking. Hence, the attribute of thinking is that primary, the central point of certainty which cannot be doubted or questioned and on this, Descartes rests his entire metaphysics as well as his method of thinking. He is, therefore, a philosopher who places primacy of consciousness over the existence and as a necessary implication, says “I think, therefore I am”. He also says that the entity that thinks is also the entity that imagines, doubts, perceives and senses as these too are the functions of thinking.
As a further step, into his inquiry to know how we know what we know, he takes the example of our knowledge of wax. He says that we couldn’t have identified the wax to be wax since it changes its properties like its shape, texture, hardness or softness depending on whether it is heated, melted or made cold. However, we never have a doubt regarding the fact that in all its various forms, it is the wax that we are perceiving but if we were to rely on our senses to recognize a piece of wax to be wax, we wouldn’t have been able to identify it in its various forms. Descartes says he cannot know it through imagination either. Similar is the case of our recognition of men whom when we see from a height and can see only their hats or their heads, we do not have any doubts in recognizing the fact that they are men. So then we can conclude that the wax, as well as these men, are perceived not through imagination or through senses but through mind or intellect alone.
As a logical conclusion to his argument, Descartes says that it is the mind that knows and not the body. In the case that we are deceived even about the wax and if it is, in fact, a dream, we cannot be in a doubt that even the act of doubting the nature of wax and its existence implies thinking and hence the existence of the one who thinks. Hence, to think is necessary to exist according to Descartes.
In his first meditation, Descartes approaches a method of a skeptic who doubts everything. By doing so, he is able to question some of the most fundamental things whose existence we take to be true for granted. For instance the physical world around us and more importantly, the validity of the data given to the mind by our senses. He questions even the most basic axiomatic truths in order to remove everything which is within the scope of doubt. By doing so, he is able to reject everything and question everything except the one which cannot be rejected, doubted or questions and that is the fact that we think. By proving that regardless of the conclusion regarding whether or not we are deceived or are dreaming, any thoughts of being deceived or dreaming implies existence. Therefore, systematically, Descartes is able to argue for the primacy of mind as the chief knower (rather than the body) and says that the mind can know itself the best since everything else can be doubted and hence can be false. Hence, if existence exists at all, it is due to the thinking faculty of the mind. In this way, Descartes is radically able to prove the intellect or rationale to be of the first order in existence.
Analysis of Descartes’ Cogito Argument
Part 2
Despite some of its flaws, I find Descartes’ method of argumentation to be very effective and convincing even if the content of those arguments may be subject to debate. The most appealing aspect of Descartes’ cogito argument is the fact that it follows a logical pattern of analysis. For most of the philosophies, the arguments succumb to the pressure of doubts or uncertainty. However, Descartes starts his inquiry by delving into the nature of uncertainty and from there, removing everything that can potentially be a subject to doubt, he arrives at something which cannot be doubted or questioned and hence through an internal consistency of his arguments, his conclusions are proven. He says “For this reason, it will suffice for the rejection of all of these opinions, if I find in each of them some reason for doubt.” (Descartes 59) Another remarkable point is “By isolating the domain of thought, it drew attention to the fact that sensing, imagining, feeling, desiring, and deciding all have (or can have) conscious aspects. Aristotelian theories of sense perception did not require that all acts of sense perception be accessible to a central awareness. ” (Hatfield 329). Therefore, Descartes could establish doubting, perceiving, sensing, imagining, etc., not as separate categories in the mind but as parts of thinking itself which forms a central consciousness. “Descartes conceived of physics in this broad sense, to include animal and human physiology and even the Passions of the Soul, which studies felt emotions…While not openly placing the human mind itself into physics, he did include mind-body union and interaction. “ (Hatfield 330). Descartes was hence one of the philosophers who ahead of his time, could think of mind separately from the body, which is one of the recent discoveries for the modern study of psychology and biology. The earlier philosophers considered the entire world to be something that could be largely studied by physics. However, Descartes gave a glimpse into the dynamic nature of human psychology, biology, etc., while even explaining complex concepts of space, movement, bodies and their physical properties etc. Moreover, Descartes chief achievement lies in the remarkable discovery regarding the dichotomy between mind and the body and the primacy of mind over body and bodily functions such as senses, which according to Descartes are anyway a part of the intellect. By doing so, he was able to arrive at a method of perceiving reality and of attaining knowledge which relied solely on the use of the human mind and the distinctive human faculty to reason. Based on the methodology of thinking discovered by Descartes, a new era of philosophical thinking in the western world was born which relied on the metaphysical premise of the primacy of human consciousness over everything else.
References
Descartes, René. "Meditation Two." Descartes, René. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. Trans. Donald A. Cress. Hackett Publishing Company, 1998.
Hatfield, Gary. "Beyond the Meditations." Hatfield, Gary. The Routledge Guidebook to Descartes' Meditations. n.d.