Discourse [1637], Principles [1647], Passions of the Soul [1649] His most enduring work, but not that one on which his historical reputation was founded Better known in his own time as a practicing scientist
Examples of the scientific
work
Illustration (and the
one following) is from the 1637 edition of the Discourse; explanations here of focus, reflection, refraction
Example (contd.)
Here Descartes uses
the theory of optics (as in the previous example) to give an explanation of the phenomenon of the rainbow
What is the purpose or aim of
the Meditations?
The narrow agenda: to provide a solid
justificatory framework for doing natural
science. The wider agenda: to show that we indeed do, as against the claims of skepticism, have knowledge, and that a theory of knowledge need not fall prey to the infinite regress or the circular argument
What is the methodology of
the Meditations?
inasmuch as reason already persuades
me that I ought not less carefully to
withhold my assent from matters which are not entirely certain and indubitable than from those which appear to me evidently to be false, if I am able to find in each one some reason to doubt, this will suffice to justify my rejecting the whole.
Methodology of the Meditations (contd.)
for that end it will not be requisite that I
should examine each in particular, which
would be an endless undertaking; for owing to the fact that the destruction of the foundations of necessity brings with it the downfall of the rest of the edifice, I will only in the first place attack those principles upon which all my former opinions rested.
Methodology of the Meditations (contd.)
Descartes uses the method of what is
sometimes called hyperbolic doubt (i.e.
exaggerated doubt for a specific purpose); he does not say doubt everything or treat every former opinion as false, but rather doubt everything or treat everything as false until proven otherwise. Q: What is the virtue, if any, of such a method?
Casting the skeptical net
Descartes goes after the principles upon
which all my former opinions rested. What
are those? 1. Those things I have learned either from the senses or through the senses. Are there any reasons for doubting beliefs acquired in this way? A: yes, there are.
Illusion
More illusion
The coloured lines in
both pictures are the same; the only difference is the black bar in the lower image.
Casting the skeptical net
(contd.)
In addition to optical illusion, Descartes appeals
to various other instances where we can be mislead by sensory information obscure conditions, hallucination, phantom pains all of which it is possible dismiss as cases of nonoptimal or non-standard conditions of perception Q: if optimal conditions are those where we dont go wrong, how can we sure were in the optimal situation?
Casting the skeptical net
(contd.)
However much we might come to doubt the
reliability of sense information (and, at least provisionally, treat all such information as false), there is a great deal we might still claim to know even under non-optimal conditions. 2. The dream hypothesis: there are no certain indications by which we may clearly distinguish wakefulness from sleep But if I dont know that I am not now dreaming, how do I know that there is an external world at all?!
Casting the skeptical net
(contd.)
Again, even if we accept that we might presently
be dreaming, still there are truths (knowledge items, if you will) that escape even this fine a net (e.g. 2 +2=4) 3. The evil genius hypothesis: What if, instead of God, there is an anti-God, who can cause me to be certain even where what I most certain about is false? What then? Is nothing certain then? Happily, there is a solution.
Resolving the skeptical
dilemma or, escaping the net
The challenge of the evil genius hypothesis is
that we might be certain about something which is false. But there is at least one thing about which we can be certain, even if we doubt it, and that is that we exist (for we must exist, if we are doubting) This is Descartes Archimedean point; it shows that at least one thing escapes the skeptical net. Q: Is this enough? Is it sufficient to know this one (fairly obvious) thing?
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