Thomas Hobbes - Leviathan - Book 1, Ch. 1-3
What is "decaying sense?"
Hobbes' definition of imagination - the duration of sensory motion after the fact (e.g., persistence of vision after the eyes have been closed)
Ch. 2
Of Imagination
Book 1
Of Man
Ch. 1
Of Sense
Ch. 3
Of the Consequence or Trayne of Imaginations
What is understanding?
a particular form of imagination, defined as the idea produced by the physical sensation of words or visible signs
How does Hobbes depict objects?
continually bumping against each other
How must philosophical truth be deduced?
from shared definitions
What is memory?
imagination over time
How does Hobbes make his arguments?
in a series of steps; the validity of the claim of each step is based upon the claim made in the previous step
What is experience?
memory of things sensed from the outside world
What is a dream?
sensation of internal movements when one is asleep
What is a vision or apparition?
sensation of internal movements when one is awake
What does Hobbes argue?
that our knowledge of the world originates from "external bodies" pressing against our sensory apparatus
What are the 2 possible trains of thoughts?
the "unguided" train, in which mental discourse wanders in no particular direction, as in dreams, and the "regulated" train, in which the thinker directs mental discourse in a specific direction
What are senses then?
the action of external bodies colliding with our sensitive organs
What do the first 3 chapters of Leviathan concern?
the mechanics of the human mind, covering the topics of sense, imagination, and train of thought
What is "train of thoughts" or "mental discourse?"
the succession of one imagination upon another, one internal sensation provoking the next one, initiates the process of thinking
What is the continuation of motion responsible for?
the transformation of sense into thoughts or "imagination"
