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:

    1. Raze everything to the ground.

    2. 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:

  1. Total Skepticism: Nothing is certain.

  2. Certainty: Some knowledge is beyond doubt.

Page 9: Calling Beliefs into Doubt

• Categories of beliefs to question:

  1. Based on sensory information (e.g., senses can deceive).

  2. Based on immediate sensory experiences (e.g., dreams).

  3. 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.