Rene Descartes Second Meditation Notes

Rene Descartes Second Meditation

Doubt and Existence

• Descartes aims to find truth by doubting everything that can be doubted.

• By the end of the first meditation, he is in a state of universal doubt.

• The senses deceive us, and dreams are indistinguishable from reality.

• It's possible the senses always deceive, and we are permanently in a dream state.

• Descartes imagines an evil demon deceiving us in every possible way.

• He doubts the existence of the physical world, his body, senses, and everything around him.

Questioning Existence

• Descartes questions if his existence is a deception, given he doubts everything.

• He wonders if he is separate from his body or one and the same with it.

• If he is one with his body, then doubting the physical world means doubting his existence.

• Could the evil demon make us believe we are alive when we are not?

The Realization of Existence

• Descartes feels it's wrong to doubt his own existence.

• He asks, "I myself, am I not at least something?"

• Even if the body and senses are doubted, does his whole existence also fall into doubt?

• He questions if he is so dependent on the body and senses that he cannot exist without them.

• Despite the possibility of an evil demon, Descartes realizes he exists as long as he is something.

"I Think, Therefore I Am"

• Descartes has an epiphany: he is thinking, and as long as he thinks, he exists.

• "I think, therefore I am" becomes his assurance of his existence.

• He needs to define what "I" is.

• He rejects definitions like "man" or "rational animal" because they lead to further questions.

• He claims he is more than just the body, as material objects can be doubted, but his ability to think cannot.

Mind-Body Dualism

• Descartes draws a distinction between the mind and the body.

• He can't conceive of himself existing without the mind but can doubt the physical body.

• He concludes he must be just a thinking thing.

• A "thinking thing" doubts, perceives, affirms, denies, wills, imagines, and feels.

• This "thing" is likened to the mind or the soul.

Habit vs. Truth

• Descartes feels corporal properties tested by the senses are more distinctly known.

• He initially feels he knows the things he now doubts better than the truth he has reached.

• He sees this as a habit, but the more he thinks about the new truth, the more he affirms it.

The Wax Example

• Descartes uses the example of wax to question the nature of the physical.

• A solid block of wax has a specific shape, size, and odor.

• When left by the fire, it melts, changes shape and size, and loses its odor.

• Yet, we still recognize it as the same piece of wax.

• Our senses perceive something completely different, but our rationality understands it is the same wax.

• This demonstrates that our knowledge of the physical world does not derive from the senses but from our mind's understanding and processing of information.

• The senses can be deceived, so everything perceived through them can be doubted.

• Truth can only be reached through our minds, rationality, reason, and logical thinking.

Rationalism

• The mental world is truer and a better source of knowledge than the physical world.

• Certain knowledge is based upon our thoughts and ideas alone, not the evidence of the senses.

• The more we rely upon our senses, the more uncertain our knowledge will be.

• The more independent of sense experience our knowledge is, the more certain it will be.

  • Posteriori: Where empiricism relies on forming knowledge based upon what the senses perceive

  • Priori: Rationalism basis knowledge upon what the mind reasons

Conclusion of Second Meditation

• We cannot doubt our existence if we think; "I think, therefore I am."

• The mind and the body are separate, and we can conceive of existing without our body.

• The only true knowledge we can attain is from the mind alone.