Philosophy 101 Unit 2
Latin for "I think, therefore I am"
"Cogito ergo sum"
Descartes' "ontological" argument for God's existence in the 5th Meditation
"God is perfect, so He must exist."
Descartes suggests that _________ may be the source of knowledge.
mathematics
Adventitious Ideas
seem to be caused by things outside us in the world.
The Copernican Revolution raised serious doubt about the
the accuracy of our senses.
Descartes uses the possibility that he might be dreaming to show that:
the senses can deceive us;
Descartes believed that he must look elsewhere for the source of knowledge because
the senses deceive him.
The difficulty Descartes finds with the information we receive from the senses is that:
the senses deceive us;
Where would most people say that knowledge comes from?
the senses.
Solipsism
the view that my mind with its thoughts it the only thing that exists; the only reality: and that other persons and the physical world are only ideas within my mind. (mind an thoughts only exist)
How long did Descartes use Methodological Skepticism?
until he finds something that cannot be doubted. something that is indubitable.
What was believed during the time of Aristotle and before?
what we see with our own eyes must be true mainly. ex. sun moves east to west across the sky each day
Problem of Interaction
How these two completely different kinds of of things interact in humans (Mind and Body)
Systematic Doubt
The method Descartes uses to discover truth
Factitious Ideas
come from human imaginative inventiveness
The truth that Descartes believes is beyond any possible doubt
"I think, therefore I am"
What is Descartes famous insight?
"I think, therefore I am"
"Cosmos"
"World" or "Universe""Logos" = "Account" or "Word"
The Wax Argument
(a) All the properties of wax that we perceive with the senses change as the wax melts (size, shape ect...) (b) Yet the wax remains the same piece of wax as it melts (c) Therefore, we know the wax through our mind, not through our senses or imagination (d) This is evidence for the existence and nature of ourselves as thinking things (e) Therefore, our mind is much more clearly and distinctly known to us than our body
Psycho-physical causation
-Descartes argues is that we experience mind-body causal interaction at every moment. When we are injured, we feel pain. When we want to do something, our body moves. It is an ordinary fact of life. Since it occurs, it is of course possible for it to occur (anything that is actual is possible, or, if something does happen, then it is true that it can happen). -Descartes says that the point of causal interaction is the pineal gland
Cogito Ergo Sum does not prove
-Descartes exists -That I existed yesterday or that I will exist tomorrow
How the Cogito Escapes the dream problem
-If I am dreaming, then reality is different from what I perceive it to be as I dream -But even if I am dreaming, I must exist in order to do the dreaming
Is Descartes really saying that the worlds of the senses and math are not real?
-No this is simply a method for Descartes -He is saying: Since it is possible for him to be dreaming or deceived his method requires him to assume that this is in fact the case -So he must dismiss both the world of the senses and that of math as being the indubitable source of knowledge
Cogito Ergo Sum does Prove
-The Cogito does prove to me about the existence of anyone but myself -When I think this shows me I exist -It does prove to me that If I am thinking at this moment, then I exist at this moment
Meditation 6
-The existence of material things and the distinction between mind and body 1. My mind is unextended. 2. My body is extended.
Cogito Does not show the opposite
-This does not mean that anything that exists, thinks -It does mean that anything that thinks, exists
Uses of Cognito
-clear and distinct idea (cannot be false) -causes are Greater then effects
Descartes started to wonder what two things?
-what is the source of knowledge -what is the source of reality
Cogito Ergo Sum does not Prove
1-It does not prove to us that Descartes exists (After all you and I can be dreaming that we read this book, dreaming that you are listening to this lecture) 2-It does not prove to me that I existed yesterday or will exist tomorrow (If I am thinking at this moment then I exist at this moment)
3 self-evident propositions of cause of our idea of God
1. There must be as much reality in the cause as in its effect. "For pray," he asks, 'whence can the effect derive its reality if not from its cause?" 2. Something cannot proceed from nothing. 3. What is more perfect cannot proceed from the less perfect.
What are the two kinds of existence?
? 1. Res Cogitans 2. Res extensa
Why Descartes thinks mathematical claims might be false
An "evil deceiver" could be tricking us
Theory of Knowledge (IDEAS)
Anything one is conscious of feelings (of joy or pain or empathy); sense perceptions (of the sun, or of a tree or of crowds of people on a city street); recollections of memories (childhood, war, public scandal); thoughts of the intellect or scientific reason (scientific, mathematical, or philosophical statement)
Murphy's Law
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong
"The Method"
Assume that everything which can be doubted is actually false
To exist, according to Descartes in the 5th Meditation, is:
Better than not to exist
An argument for the existence of God which talks about God as the cause of the universe is called:
Cosmological Arguement
Name for the kind of argument for God's existence which speaks of God as the cause of the universe
Cosmological argument
Descartes' argument to show that "I think therefore I am" escapes the problem of the "evil deceiver"
Deception is a kind of thinking, Even if he is deceived he is still something.
ClockWork Universe
Descartes' mechanistic view has man living in a clockwork universe. In Descartes' system of matter in motion, God simply causes motion to exist. He merely gives the world a shove, to get things started. As first cause of motion, he provides a fixed and constant amount of motion according to the laws of geometry and mechanics. After that, he does not interfere. Thus the universe is a mechanical clockwork system of bodies in motion according to the laws of physics. Particles move on impact with one another in a purposeless mechanical motion in the clockwork universe.
Philosophical term which describes Descartes' view that reality consists of two kinds of things: mind and matter
Dualism
Res Cogitans and Res Extensa Make up Descartes famous
Dualism
Descartes believes that even though he can doubt many things, he might still not exist at the moment he is doubting.
False
Descartes discovers that no matter what might happen, his physical body must always exist.
False
During Descartes childhood, what two people showed that Copernicus was right?
Galileo & Kepler:The earth does revolve around the sun rather than vice versa
In the 3rd Meditation Descartes says that the cause of our idea of God must be:
God Himself
In Meditation 4, Descartes now knows that two beings exist for sure?
God and Himself
In the end Descartes believes that
God cannot be a deceiver, since deception is a mark of imperfection (yet another "clear and distinct" idea) and God has no imperfections
Descartes' view on whether humans have free will
He says we do have free will
Why does Descartes conclude that mathematics cannot be the source of knowledge?
He thought that if there could be an evil deceiver that makes him get the answers wrong, but he believes are right. ex. 2+3= 5 but it is not really 5, the deceiver just makes us think it is 5.
In Meditation 6, what two attributes does Descartes compare?
Intellect and Imagination
What is the one kind of being that is both Res Cogitans and Res Extensa?
Humans
What is a thing that thinks?
It is a thing that doubts, understands, conceives, imagines, perceives
The one truth which Descartes thinks is beyond any possible doubt is:
I exist
"Cogito ergo sum" means
I think, therefore I am;
What Descartes believes is the cause of our ideas of material things
Material things themselves
Physical Substance
Matter by contrast is spatially extended; is in mechanical motion; is infinitely divisible; is totally determined by the impact of other bodies; without the capacity for reasoning; without free will or any moral qualities. Each kind of substance is independent of the other. For each kind of substance there is a distinct and appropriate discipline which studies it.
In his book, The Meditations, what does he use to answer his questions?
Methodological Skepticism
In the Meditations Descartes uses
Methodological Skepticism
Thinking Substance
Mind, thinking substance, occupies no space; is not in motion; is not part of any clockwork; has the capacity for reasoning, remembering, denying; has free will and is morally responsible for its action.
Does "I think, therefore I am," show that anything that exists must think?
No. Material objects such as chairs exist but do not think.
The argument for the existence of God in the 5th Meditation is sometimes known as the:
Ontological Argument
In the 5th Meditation. Descartes says that God must exist since He is:
Perfect
What is the main theme in Mediation 3?
Proving the existence of God
He wondered, what is knowledge if not our?
Senses
Res Cogitans in english
Something that exists
The method Descartes uses to discover truth
Systematic Doubt
The technique used by Descartes to discern what is true is that of:
Systematic Doubt
What does the dream problem and the mathematics problem make Descartes believe?
That he cannot be 100% certain that the world of the senses and mathematics are real
Name given to the criticism of Descartes that says he assumes the very thing he wants to prove in order to prove it
The Cartesian Circle (circular reasoning)
What Revolution was underway when Descartes was a child
The Copernican Revolution
What is Descartes famous book?
The Meditations
Meditation 5
The essence of material things and the distinction between mind and body Each of these arguments depends on Leibniz's law, which says: Leibniz's law: If two things are the same thing, they must share all the same properties. Descartes shows two ways in which mind and body seem to have different properties, and how, hence, they must be different things. A. The argument from knowledge. 1. I can be certain that my mind exists. 2. I cannot be sure that my body exists. Mind and body are not the same thing. B. The argument from extension. 1. My mind is unextended. 2. My body is extended.
Meditation 3
The existence of God 1. I have an idea of God, a perfect being. 2. There must be as much reality or perfection in the cause of any thing as in the effect. a. This applies not only to the existence of ideas, but also to the reality of what they represent. Not only must the existence of the idea be explained, but also what it represents. 3. The idea of God represents something so perfect that I could not have been the cause of this idea. Therefore, God must exist as the only possible cause of the perfection found in my idea of Him. With the knowledge that God exists and that he is not a deceiver, Descartes can move on to explain how we know material objects to ex
Meditation 2
The nature of the human mind, and how it is better known than the body 1. Even if we assume that there is a deceiver, from the very fact that I am deceived it follows that I exist. 2. In general it will follow from any state of thinking (e.g., imagining, sensing, feeling, reasoning) that I exist. While I can be deceived about the objective content of any thought, I cannot be deceived about the fact that I exist and that I seem to perceive objects with certain characteristics. (The famous statement of this from D.'s Discourse on Method is "Cogito ergo sum." or "I think, therefore I am.") 3. Since I only can be certain of the existence of myself insofar as I am thinking, I have knowledge of my existence only as a thinking thing (res cogitans). This shows that the contents of the mind are more easily known than the body: The Argument that the Mind is More Certainly known than the Body: It is possible that all knowledge of external objects, including my body, could be false as the result of the actions of an evil demon. It is not, however, possible that I could be deceived about my existence or my nature as a thinking thing. Therefore, our mind is much more clearly and distinctly known to us than our body.
The reason dreams pose a problem for Descartes
They show that our senses might be deceiving us
Res Extensa
Things that are extended in space or make up space including our own bodies i.e physical world, body
Res Cogitans
Things that think but do not take up space Consists of our minds ours and Gods
Some critics say that Descartes' reasoning is circular, assuming the very thing he wants to prove in order to prove it.
True
T/F Descartes was a mathematician
True.
Meditation 4
Truth and Falsity 1. God is no deceiver. 2. He created me and gave me reason which tells me that my ideas come from external corporeal things. 3. If they do not come from external objects, then God must be a deceiver. But this is an absurdity. Therefore, 4. Material objects exist.
Descartes' goal in the Meditations is to discover a kind of truth which is:
Unshakeable and incontestably certain.
Meditation 1
What can be called into doubt 1. Instead of assuming that God is the source of our deceptions, we will assume that there exists an evil demon, who is capable of deceiving us in the same way we supposed God to be able. Therefore, I have reason to doubt the totality of what my senses tell me as well as the mathematical knowledge that it seems I have. Since the source of our knowledge cannot lie in the sense, Descartes must find a way to rebuild the edifice of knowledge upon material he can find within the contents of his own mind. The first thing he can be sure of on the basis of this alone is his own existence.
The difficulty Descartes finds with the information we receive from mathematics is that:
an evil demon could be deceiving us.
During Descartes' childhood most scientist started to believe that things we see
are not the way they are
Innate Ideas
are those that come from the nature of human reason itself and are natural to all human beings;
Why did Descartes suggest that mathematics may be the source of knowledge?
because it avoids the dream problem.
Psycho-physical Dualism
doctrine that reality consists of two kinds of substances, mental and physical and that the one kind of substance can never be shown to be a form of or be reduced to the other What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind.
What did Descartes decide to assume?
everything that can be doubted is actually FALSE.
Descartes says that in his dreams
his senses are false. he feels like he is awake, when he is actually sleeping
What Is Doubted In The 1st Meditation
i) Doubtfulness of composite things: sensory experience ii) Simple disciplines of mathematics, geometry, etc... iii) Omnipotent, supremely good God c) Second Meditation
Fifth Meditation
i) Main Argument (a) God (a most perfect possible being) exists ii) The proof (a) If he (it) didn't exist, the he (it) would be less than perfect which contradicts the meaning of "God"
second meditation
i) Main Argument (a) The nature of the mind is better known than the nature of the body ii) What does it prove (a) It proves that I (a thinking thing) exist
what is reality if?
not the world we see around us
Anything that does think can prove their existence to
themselves, not anyone else.
If Descartes can think of any possible answers that could be wrong, then
they are in fact wrong and he would go to the next possible answer.
cosmological argument
tries to give an account of the universe by showing that God is its cause.