Descartes Intuition and Deduction Thesis

Define intuition

ability to immediately grasp of a self evident truth , they are a priori , no need for experience to confirm it

e.g. Cogito argument

Define deduction

ability to logically demonstrate a truth without justification from experience , not immediate takes several steps , still a priori

e.g. Trademark + the reality of the external world arguments

What are the premises and conclusions for the cogito argument

P1. I am a thinking thing

P2. All thinking things exist

C . Therefore I exist

Define Descartes notion of “ clear and distinct “ ideas

Clear ideas refer to what is bright , vivid and present

Distinct is when it is separated from other ideas

Example : Cogito argument and triangles have three sides

Is the cogito argument a priori/ posterior , and why ?

A priori , we do not require sense experience to know or justify that we are a thinking thing as we can be conscious of that from birth that we think and it it something we are accustom to innately , experience does not give us the ability to think

What is a criticism of the cogito argument the copy principle from Hume ?

Founded on the copy principle to dispute the idea that we can know intuitively

Hume - cannot have a priori knowledge of self

all concepts, copies of sense impressions

cannot have the ‘self ‘ we end up observing heat , pleasure anger

no sense impression of self , only observe emotion and body temp

self is not clear and distinct concept - bundle of impressions

What would Descartes respond to Hume’s Bundle of impression criticism ?

Argument contradictory - refers to “I “ doing the perceiving

No particular experience associated with self

Hume talks about the I feel pleasure , pain cant talk about that unless something , the self is feeling the emotion , pain

What does Descartes aim to do in his intuition and deduction thesis

Respond to scepticism , defend rationalism

What argument does God establish from the cogito argument

Trademark argument

What is the copy principle ?

principle of empiricism all ideas are copies of impressions

Outline the trademark argument

P1. The cause of anything must be at least perfect as its effect

P2. My ideas must be caused by something

P3. I am an imperfect being

P4. I have the idea of God , which is that of a perfect being

C1. I cannot be the cause of my idea of God

C2. Only a perfect being can be the cause of my idea of God

Criticism of trademark argument on the casual adaquacey

Criticism of trademark argument , hume’s fork

Criticism of trademark argument , no clear and distinct idea of God

God exists - how do we know ? - clear and distinct ideas - why trust these ?

Criticism of trademark argument , Locke universal ideas

Outline the argument from the external world

A priori deduction

P1. The physical objects I assume exist outside my mind like tables and chairs are taken in by my sense , not made up in my imagination as I cannot control how I perceive them

P2. Either these are made up ideas given to me by God or they are are really existing physical objects that exist independently of my mind

P3. I strongly believe that these sensations come from real physical objects and I have no way to tell they are not so if God directly causing these ideas in me then he would be a deceiver

P4. God is perfect and therefore would not deceive me about my reality

C . therefore my perception of physical objects is of a truly existing external world

What are the 3 arguments for the iintuiton deductio thesis ?

Cogito , Trademark , External world