#concept-pamphlet
What are the 3 primary keywords to describe Descartes’ philosophy: ?
- rationalist - arrive at things via logical thought, not just sensory experience
- dualism - real distinction between mind and body. mind is non-physical, body is physical
- skepticism
What is Descartes’ wax argument? Recall the example with wax, and its significance. ? Consider a piece of wax. It is from a hive, smells like honey and flowers. However, when the wax is brought near a flame, these sensory characteristics change. The taste and smell evaporate, the color changes, the shape is lost. Yet, we still recognize that it is the same piece of wax. The point being made is that our senses cannot be the only basis for understanding that the piece of wax remains the same. Our mind has a grasp of our environment via not only the senses, but through intellectual perception.
What is Descartes’ Evil Demon thought experiment? ? Imagine everything you perceive through your senses is controlled by an evil demon D. The demon D is dedicated to deceive you so that all senses you believe to be true are actually false. However, the demon D cannot deceive you about 1 thing: your existence. Even if you are being deceived, this demon D cannot deceive you about your own existence. This is post-wax argument and leads to conclusion Cogito, ergo sum my counterpoints…well…the demon could deceive you about your existence if the thought experiment were different lmao. like, if the demon could deceive you.
Descarte’s conclusion of Cogito, ergo sum, or I think, therefore I am, is reached if you were to… ? doubt everything, including your own body and external world. It is the fact that Descartes cannot doubt that he is in the act of doubting. To doubt, you must think, and to think, you must exist. dubito ergo cogito, cogito ergo sum
What is Cartesian doubt? ? A systematic process of being skeptical about (doubting) the truth of one’s beliefs it is a form of methodological skepticism. This is Descartes’ method, and has been seen by many as the root of the modern scientific method.