3. The Meditations - Descartes

Meditations in First Philosophy by Descartes

• Descartes' philosophical inquiry begins with the question "How do we actually know something?" and his search for a foundational, indubitable, and certain belief.
• He employs a method of radical doubt and introspection, reflecting on the false opinions and shaky foundations he has accepted since childhood.
• Descartes determines to demolish his former beliefs and start anew to construct something lasting and unshakeable in the sciences.

The First Meditation

• The author expresses his intention to eliminate all doubtful beliefs and start anew in his pursuit of unshakeable truths in the sciences.
• He reflects on the certainty of his own existence as a thinking thing and the nature of doubt, considering the possibility of being deceived by a powerful and cunning being.
• The meditation touches on the author's contemplation of the nature of the human mind and its capacity for knowledge.
• Key quotes from the first meditation include:
  • "It is some years now since I realized how many false opinions I had accepted as true from childhood onwards."
  • "Hence I saw that at some stage in my life the whole structure would have to be utterly demolished, and that I should have to begin again from the bottom up if I wished to construct something lasting and unshakeable in the sciences."
  • "The moment has come, and so today I have discharged my mind from all its cares, and have carved out a space of untroubled leisure. I have withdrawn into seclusion and shall at last be able to devote myself seriously and without encumbrance to the task of destroying all my former opinions."

Reasons for Radical Doubt

• Possible Reason #1: Illusory Sense Perception
  • There are instances where we are deceived by our senses, but this is not the main reason for radical doubt.
  • The assumption that there is a fake implies that there is a genuine one.
• Possible Reason #2: Indistinguishability of Dreams from Waking Perceptions
  • We cannot distinguish between being awake and asleep, and lucid dreaming is a different reality.
  • This is a better argument for doubt, but mathematics remains true whether awake or asleep.
• Possible Reason #3: All-Powerful God
  • God as an infinitely powerful and perfect being is the source of existence and can influence the ideas the author possesses.
  • This is not a strong reason, as God's nature is good and would not will the author to be deceived.
• Possible Reason #4: The Evil Spirit or Genius
  • The evil genius is a catalyst for the author's engagement in radical doubt, compelling him to resist deception and proceed towards deeper introspection.
  • This is a more compelling reason for radical doubt, as the evil genius is not bound by moral impediments.

The Second Meditation

• The meditation focuses on the nature of the human mind and its capacity for knowledge.
• The author reflects on the certainty of his own existence as a thinking thing, stating "I am therefore a true thing, and one that truly exists; but what kind of thing? I have said it already: one that thinks."
• Key quotes from the second meditation include:
  • "I can finally decide that this proposition, ‘I am, I exist’, whenever it is uttered by me, or conceived in the mind, is necessarily true."
  • "I will take care not to give my assent to anything false, or to allow this deceiver, however powerful and cunning he may be, to impose upon me in any way."

The Wax Experiment

• Descartes uses the example of a piece of wax to demonstrate that the qualities perceived by the senses are subject to change.
• The wax remains the same substance despite changes in its properties.
• The true nature of the wax is not grasped through the senses but rather through the mind alone.

The Third Meditation

• The meditation focuses on the existence of God and the nature of external reality.
• Descartes explores the idea of God as a supremely perfect and infinite being.
• Key quotes from the third meditation include:
  • "All these considerations are sufficient proof that, up to now, it is as a result not of a certain judgment, but only of some blind inclination, that I have believed in the existence of various things distinct from myself, and conveying ideas or images of themselves to me through the sense-organs or in some other manner."
  • "But there is yet another way that occurs to me by which I could investigate whether any of those things of which the ideas are in me exist outside me."

Lumiere Naturelle (Natural Light)

• Descartes' capacity for rational thinking and understanding.
• The capacity to judge, deliberate, and use the natural mind.

Formal and Objective Reality

• Formal Reality: The reality of an entity as an actuality in the world.
• Objective Reality: The reality of an entity as an idea.
• Only ideas have an objective reality.
• There are degrees of objective reality.

Argument for the Existence of God

• From nothing, nothing is produced.
• Everything has a cause.
• The idea of God is the idea that contains all perfections in itself.
• Thus, the idea of God is clear and distinct and has the most objective reality.
• The existence of God is necessary to explain the idea of God in Descartes' mind.