Rene Descartes was a man born in the late 1500’s, whose main goal in philosophy was to fully understand the foundation of knowledge. In the first and second meditations, he talks about his beliefs which say that we build knowledge off of old knowledge and also that foundations strike a balance. Descartes believed that his own knowledge should be treated as false until he could reacquire that knowledge through studying philosophy in a deeper way. By doing this, Descartes wiped clean all of the knowledge he had until this point. This was partly a sign of the times: “the seventeenth century marked a turning point in western society as it moved away from tradition and dogma towards scientific inquiry.” This shift is evident through Descartes’ desire to prove to himself that knowledge given to him was in fact based in truth: it wasn’t enough to receive knowledge from a reputable source: Descartes wanted to discover the truth himself through rigorous academic research of his own.
Descartes wrote about the “discovery” of knowledge which to him was the approach taken after obtaining new information: one then had to follow up with an analytical review to confirm or deny the truthfulness of the information. He believed that our senses can deceive us and thus we should not trust based on instinct alone and rather had to use reason. While suspicious of the human senses, Descartes was wholly confident in the human body believing that we can trust our bodies because they are physical reminders of our very existence. Related to the senses, Descartes established an understanding of something’s ‘essence’ by determining that it is defined as what is completely inseparable from that thing; believing that without the ‘essence’ the thing would be changed beyond any recognition and ultimately could not exist. This quest to understand essence is similar in nature to how Descartes views the acquisition of knowledge: at its core, it is a search for “absolute truth” or “absolute certainty.” This is at the core of his philosophical teachings and beliefs.
In the first meditation, Descartes delves into how in his dreams he experiences a type of reality that is remotely similar to a waking reality. Because of this realization, it is extremely hard for him to distinguish the difference between sleep and being consciously awake. Descartes defined dreams as “things” we see that feel real. However, he realized that even if they feel real they may not be real and for that sole reason he now didn’t have a reason to trust that statement. Even if specific complex objects do not exist, we know that basic colors and shapes that compose them exist. For example, the concept of math is something that we can trust, because we know that every answer to an equation will be correct. In mathematics, every equation has one single answer, and that can never change. Descartes believes and trusts his perceptions of self-evident truths such as numbers because he believes in an almighty God that created those things. Descartes admits in his meditations that he can’t be sure that God is not playing a trick on him. He believes that God is good and that God would not purposefully deceive him. To rebuild his knowledge on the basis of doubt Descartes decides to pretend that an “evil genius” is tricking him, instead of the “good” god. Because of this evil genius, Descartes sets out to prove that by solely using reason, he will find that some things are beyond doubt.
In the second meditation, Descartes is devoted to discovering whether anything can be classified as absolutely certain. He first explains that he can fully believe he himself exists, because if he doubts that, there must be a thinking mind that is making him doubt it. Descartes thinks about the “I” in this statement and after some deep thinking, he decides to label himself as a “thing” that thinks.
The human mind is capable of both thought and perception, however, what Descartes perceives with his senses may be false. Because of previous realizations, Descartes can’t doubt his perceptions. For example, Descartes explains how the mind is capable of both thinking and perception by talking about a piece of wax. Solid wax and melted wax are both different forms of wax, but they are both coming from the same product, they form different properties and this proves that perception is not strictly a function of the senses. In addition to this, the reasoning mind is the one that is making this judgment about the form of the wax. With this argument, Descartes insists that sensation and imagination are actually properties of the mind, even though they involve the physical body. Because these senses can be deceived by the mind, such as physical objects and bodies this means that Descartes’s mind is still the only thing he can surely believe exists. Without this type of intellect, perceptions are meaningless and tell us nothing about the world.
The three arguments that Descartes uses to make us doubt our own knowledge, the dream argument, the deceiving god argument, and the evil genius argument are not meant to be taken so literally. To prove anything beyond a shadow of a doubt, Descartes has to doubt everything that comes to his mind. Similar to doubt, Skepticism plays a huge role in philosophy. “Skepticism is the ability to face to face things that appear as well as those thoughts in any manner whatsoever, in which capacity, because of equal strength there is in objects and opposing arguments we arrive first at the suspension of assent, and after that the peace” Sextus Empiricus. Skepticism is based solely on one’s own experiences, however, a skeptic like Descartes has to ask himself whether it is possible to know anything for certain.
Leela Gandhi from “The Cartesian subject in Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction”, believes that “Cogito, ergo, sum” which stands for “I think, therefore, I am”, puts the concept of a man at the center of the world. Gandhi talks about how Descartes’ meditations on this subject eventually lead to the concerning conclusion that there is nothing we know that is truly beyond doubt. Descartes’ work turns this way because of the central place he gave to reason and mind, rather than God. “Cogito, ergo, sum” sums up both of the meditations, because it can be classified as the basis for humanism.
In conclusion, Descartes reasons that we can only be certain of our minds and can’t be certain of the existence of our bodies. Descartes explains that the expression “Cogito, ergo, sum” is clear and distinct therefore it is certain. Descartes is attempting to make determinations about what is true based on his own personal experiences. Most significant is his realization and acceptance that he exists. Descartes comes to this conclusion because he has spent all this time theorizing and in order for him to have gone through so much debating and thinking he must be alive. Descartes’ theory does not evade all the causal problems, but it helps to show his philosophy in a new light that will redirect the new research being conducted today.
Bibliography:
Gandhi, Leela. “Postcolonial Theory – A Critical Introduction.” Columbia University Press, cup.columbia.edu/book/postcolonial-theory/9780231112734.
Newman, Lex. “Descartes' Epistemology.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 3 Dec. 1997, plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/#1.1.
“Skepticism Philosophy Summary.” Philosophy & Philosophers, Philosophy & Philosophers, 5 June 2012, www.the-philosophy.com/skepticism-philosophy-summary.