Reading Questions- Descartes, “Meditations I and II”
Meditations I and II
- Why does Descartes think he needs to doubt?
Descartes has all the reasons to doubt everything in life. He explains his meditation by arguing that there are many things he believed there was truth in them but learned that they were not true. He wanted to reveal the certainty in things. He was always searching for something that cannot be doubted. To show the certainty in words, he had to doubt everything.
- List 4 different reasons Descartes gives to doubt what we sense with our eyes or ears (sense doubt)
- Descartes gives to doubt what we sense with our eyes or ears. He cites errors in with sensed perception as to his proof of seeing external things, he could explain the perception in several ways.
- He cites that what he sees as a kind of mental illusion. For example, if he sees a tree, maybe the mind is just creating the perception of the tree.
- He cites that what he sees is a kind of divinely imposed virtual reality; maybe God’s divine power forms the perception of what he sees in his mind.
- He cites that maybe there is an external object that creates his mental perception of the object.
- Why does Descartes think we can doubt even math and logic?
He argues that there is a demon deceiver that makes him doubt the truth about logic and mathematics. This is because the demon deceiver controls one’s mind and makes them question everything into doubt.
- After all the doubting, what is Descartes have left? What is his breakthrough idea?
He coined the assertion that “I think; therefore, I am” to explain that. He uses the assertion to explain and demonstrate the attainability of specific knowledge. It is the primary way to help survive and explain his methodic doubt.
- After Descartes affirms his existence, he claims he is a mind (a thinking thing), what is a thinking thing (what does it do)? Is it a brain? Is it a soul? Is it a body and soul? (the answers the last three questions are “no.”
In such a case, he was trying to explain and search for the truth. He rejected everything that he doubted at least to see, if after, that he had something undoubtedly. It, therefore, means that if you are questioning, you are thinking. In finding the truth in everything, he found himself thinking.