Phil 30I W25 Lecture 2.1
Page 1: Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy
Lecture by Matic Kastelec at UC Riverside, Winter 2025.
Page 2: Lecture 2.1 - The First and Second Meditations
Key Objectives:
Understand Descartes’s method of doubt and its purpose.
Explain the significance of the Cogito as the foundation of knowledge.
Describe Descartes’ understanding of the nature of the mind.
Analyze the “wax” example and its relevance in the Second Meditation.
Page 3: The Meditations (1641/1647)
Full Title: Meditations on First Philosophy, in which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated.
Approach:
Two steps in the process:
Raze everything to the ground.
Rebuild on stable foundations.
Presentation in the first person serves as an autobiographical account of six days of thought.
Page 4: The First Meditation
Focuses on questioning what can be called into doubt.
Page 5: Descartes's Summary of Doubt
Utilizes doubt as a means to:
Free ourselves from preconceived opinions.
Lead the mind away from reliance on the senses.
Overcome doubt to attain certain knowledge.
Key Quote: Emphasizes the importance of establishing solid foundations for the sciences to avoid reliance on potentially erroneous beliefs.
Page 6: The Central Goal of the First Meditation
The goal is to find a firm foundation for human knowledge.
Reflects on the acceptance of falsehoods in childhood and the need for complete demolition of preconceived beliefs to establish lasting knowledge.
Page 7: Archimedean Point
Quote: "Anything which admits of the slightest doubt I will set aside... until I recognize something certain..."
Drawing a parallel to Archimedes, points to the importance of finding a single point of certainty as the starting point for knowledge.
Page 8: The Method of Doubt
Descartes' methodological approach involves:
Systematic, hyperbolic (exaggerated) doubt.
Guiding Principle: Treat any belief with even slight doubt as false.
Outcomes:
Total Skepticism: Nothing is certain.
Certainty: Some knowledge is beyond doubt.
Page 9: Calling Beliefs into Doubt
Categories of beliefs to question:
Based on sensory information (e.g., senses can deceive).
Based on immediate sensory experiences (e.g., dreams).
About the physical world (e.g., the hypothesis of an evil demon).
Page 10: Preconceived Opinions and the Senses
Purpose of the method of doubt:
Free from preconceived beliefs.
Move beyond sensory perceptions.
Question: Do any beliefs survive Descartes' method of doubt?
Page 11: The Second Meditation
Focuses on understanding the nature of the human mind, emphasizing its superiority over the body.
Page 12: Main Claims in the Second Meditation
Key Assertions:
"I exist!" - this is the foundation for knowledge.
The mind is immaterial, known better through intellect than senses.
Page 13: The "Cogito" Argument
Explanation of "Cogito" - Latin for "I think".
Essential Claim: "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am).
Importance of first-person formulation: the personal nature of the self-thought.
Page 14: What Am I?
Exploring identity as:
A human being.
A rational animal.
The dualistic nature of body and soul.
Importance of the evil demon hypothesis in questioning identity.
Page 15: A Thinking Thing
Establishing thought as the definitive aspect of self-identity.
Recognition that ceasing to think could imply ceasing to exist.
Description of self as a "thing that thinks," emphasizing intellect.
Page 16: Thinking
Thought is defined as:
Doubting, understanding, affirming, denying, willing, unwilling, imagining, and sensory perception.
Page 17: The Wax Example
Goal: To demonstrate that bodies are known not through senses, but intellect.
Claims that we understand the nature of wax better than through sensory perception.
Page 18: Relevance of the Wax Example
Key reasoning for using the Method of Doubt:
To demonstrate limitations of sensory experiences in understanding material things.
Explains that the essence of wax is recognized intellectually, beyond sensory features.
Page 19: Understanding the Nature of Wax
Knowing wax cannot rely on:
Sensory features (changeable characteristics).
Imagination (limited by inability to visualize all changes).
Correct Approach: Knowing through intellect, understanding wax as an extended, flexible, and changeable object.
Page 20: Summary of Meditations
Descartes’ doubt removes fallible beliefs to identify what cannot be doubted.
Foundational Truth: "I am, I exist" - established as indubitable truth.
Essence of Self: Identified as a thinking substance rather than a physical body.
Critical insight that knowledge of the world arises from intellect rather than senses.
Page 21: Performance of Descartes
Dramatic illustration of the properties of wax, demonstrating changes in sensory perceptions.
Acknowledges that despite changes in sensory attributes, the essence of wax remains constant.
Concludes by emphasizing the distinction between perceived changes and the underlying substance of wax.