Assess Descartes’ Intuition and Deduction Thesis

Intro

Descartes: rationalist = synthetic a priori knowledge is possible

Intuition = immediate and direct apprehension of the truth

Deduction = connecting a series of intuitions together to lead to another self-evident truth

Synthetic a priori knowledge is possible

Argument: empirical POV, synthetic a priori knowledge is not possible

Paragraph 1: ‘Cogito’ Argument vs Hume’s Fork

P - ‘Cogito era sum’ - ‘I think therefore I am’

E - Descartes’ Argument over clear and distinct ideas to prove himself as a mind

A - Hume’s Fork

C - ‘Cogito era sum’ is a meaningless statement

E - Descartes has only acquired a false claim about reality not a synthetic a priori truth

Paragraph 2: God’s Existence vs Hume’s Copy Principle

P - God exists to guarantee our clear and distinct ideas

E - Descartes’ Trademark Argument + Causal Adequacy Principle

A - Hume’s Copy Principle - God = a posteriori

C - Descartes’ Response - imperfection came before perfection

E - Locke’s response about universal condition

Paragraph 3: External World’s Existence vs Russel’s Best Hypothesis

P - Self-evident truth of the external world

E - Wax Analogy - objects exist

A - Russel’s External World Argument

C - Empiricism: Cartesian Circle

E - Descartes’ argument fails

Key Term

• Intuition = immediate and direct apprehension of the truth

• Deduction = connecting a series of intuitions together to lead to another self-evident truth

• Synthetic a priori = knowledge about existence known without experience

• Clear idea = immediate to an attentive mind

• Distinct idea = so sharply separated from all other ideas that it has to be certain