Descartes
By: aabbccx • July 14, 2019 • Coursework • 612 Words (3 Pages) • 2,032 Views
Descartes 10/8/2013
- Rule 1- Rule of certainty- Need to be 100% certain
-Think like a mathematician
-Need a certain attitude/notation
-People willing to settle for probability
-Do natural science with the same attitude, all the beliefs stand in the way
-Not existential doubt
-Deliberate doubt, done for the sake of setting aside false/probably beliefs in order to have certain beliefs
-“I can stop looking for certainty here because I know that I can’t have it”
-Appears as if all beliefs about universe are probable, very questionable, were acquired before I had any control over it, through culture and through pores. Acquired most beliefs without being aware.
-No way to determine which are correct, but all have same fundamental tie- Can rely on senses
-If the belief (relying on the senses) is uncertain, then beliefs based on it cannot be true
-Has found a proof that justifies setting aside all his beliefs and how he acquired them
-Produced a proof, does not understand why he should accept it
-When rely on senses, doing more than saying they are reliable, realizes they are believed to be reliable when awake and paying attention
-Most beliefs seem like they would pass step 1
-Hard time separating real life experiences from experiences in vivid dreams
- Rule 2- Dream Hypothesis- Not awake and alert, asleep and dreaming
-Grounds for challenging core beliefs
-pg. 79- need to really put before my mind that I need at accept nothing less than certainty
-Getting over mental habits is hard, especially when trusting my senses
- Turn my will into opposite direction, and deceive myself into believing those beliefs are utterly false and imaginary
-Assume opposite of what I’d like to believe to see if there are any grounds for belief
-Asleep and dreaming- hypothesis
-Until can be proven otherwise, assume he is asleep and dreaming
-Discovers that it seems that some beliefs are not based on sense experience
-Thinks he has discovered essential properties of object that define it
-Clear, concise definition, will not change
-pg 78- class of ideas, number place, time etc. core group of ideas that are unlike the ideas that he gets from his senses
-Objects take up space
-Distinguish between when he is using ideas that seem to be based on sense experiences connected with sense based belief, and not based on sense based belief
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