FREE ESSAY ON DESCARTES

DESCARTES

The Move from Doubt to Certainty; A Look at the Theories of Descartes and Locke Descartes
is interested in the certainty of his existence and the existence of other people and
things. Descartes' beliefs vary from those of Socrates. Descartes argues that knowledge
is acquired through awareness and experience. Using this approach, Descartes moves
through doubt to certainty of his existence. He asks himself various questions about the
certainty of his existence and solves them through clear thought and logic. Using this
method Descartes establishes doubts to be truths and by the end of the book, he has
established that he does indeed exist. In this paper, I will show how Descartes moves
through doubt to certainty. I will explain how Descartes uses the cogito, proves the
existence of God and what that means to his existence. I will also discuss the general
rules of truth that Descartes establishes. In the First Meditation Descartes begins to
examine what is certain and what is doubtful. Descartes wants to establish that his
knowledge is certain and not doubtful. He states, ...I had accepted many false opinions
as being true, and that what I had based on such insecure principles could only be most
doubtful and uncertain; so that I had to undertake seriously once in my life to rid
myself of all opinions I had adopted up to then, and to begin, and to begin afresh from
the foundations, if I wished to establish something firm and constant in the
sciences.(Descartes 95) By this Descartes means that he wishes to establish a foundation
for his knowledge based on certainty instead of doubt. Descartes first looks at the
senses. This is important because the senses are the first thing to cause doubt. He
focuses on the perception of things. He says that things far from him, in the distance,
give him reason to doubt their certainty, while things that are close to him are
indubitable and he is clear about their certainty. However, Descartes realizes that
dreams pose an obstacle to his beliefs. Even up close, dreams can be indubitable.
Descartes believes that if a person has had a dream that was so intense that the person
could not determine it form reality, then they have reason to doubt objects that are
close to us and appear to be indubitable. In order to resolve this problem, Descartes
suggests that one must examine whether they are dreaming or not. Descartes realizes that
he can not rely on his senses anymore to give him dubitable truths. He turns to find
something that is indubitable. Descartes tries to use science as a foundation for truth.
He discards physics, astronomy, and medicine because all three of them rely upon the
senses. "...we shall not be wrong in concluding that physics, astronomy, and medicine,
and all the other sciences that depend on the consideration of composite things, are most
doubtful and uncertain..."(Descartes 98). However, Descartes finds that such things as
geometry and arithmetic can be trusted because their are no senses involved. They are
based upon logic. "...whether I am awake or asleep, two and three added together always
makes five, and a square always has four sides; and it does not seem possible that truths
so apparent can be suspected of any falsity or uncertainty"(98). However, Descartes finds
reason to even doubt this. The only thing that could makes these truths dubitable is
through the intervention by an Evil Deceiver (God). Descartes cannot prove that God is
good and has to acknowledge that God has the power to deceive. Therefore, Descartes must
doubt all things until he can prove their certainty. Descartes comes to call this doubt
Universal Doubt. In the Second Meditation, Descartes examine the existence of himself. He
concludes that if he cannot prove something exists then how does he know with certainty
that he exists. It is his doubt of his existence that Descartes uses to prove his
existence. Descartes realizes that if he is able to doubt then he does indeed exists. He
take the approach that, "I think therefore I am" to establish a certainty that he exists.
This idea also known as the cogito becomes the central point that Descartes will use for
the remaining of his meditations. Descartes affirms his existence every time he thinks,
doubts, or is persuaded(Descartes 103). Descartes affirms that if there is an Evil
Deceiver then Descartes must exist because in order for God to deceive, Descartes he must
first exist. Although, Descartes has proved his existence he can only prove it in the
mental capacity. He does not know for certain that he exists in the physical form. The
only way, at this time, that Descartes can prove the existence of his body is through his
senses. He has already established that his senses are dubitable and therefore cannot
tell him with certainty that his body exists. In order to get a better understanding of
his relationship between his body and mind, Descartes melts a piece of wax. He observes
the wax in two different states, the first in a solid form and the second in a melted
form. He questions how his senses can show him two entirely different forms of the same
substance; yet he knows that the substance, in both states, although completely
different, is wax. The mind was able to understand the essence of the wax. Although the
senses were not entirely capable of making the connection between the two forms of wax,
the senses assisted the mind in determining what the substance was. This experiment
proves to be important to Descartes because he is able to make a link between the senses
and the mind. Using his experiment, Descartes enters his Third Meditation using his
general rule of truth that "...all things we conceive very clearly and distinctly are
true"(Descartes 113). However, there is one flaw to his thoughts. If God is an evil
deceiver than this cannot be true. Descartes proceeds to establish that God is good and
does not deceive. Descartes uses three points to establish the existence God. These
points are ideas. The first one is adventitious ideas; those ideas that come from outside
experiences. The second is invented ideas; those that are derived from the imagination
such as sirens and chimera. The final is innate ideas; those that are within one when
they are born. Descartes uses two more points to further establish that God exists. He
uses the ideas of "infinite" and "perfect". These two ideas, Descartes cannot account
for. The only way for such things to come about would be from an infinite and perfect
being such as God. These ideas have a direct relationship with God. In order for a finite
beings such as Descartes to have a concept of infinite it must have been planted there by
an infinite being such as God. Descartes concludes this idea to be true because one
cannot derive the idea of infinite by negating the finite(Descartes 125). An example of
this would be the use of a number line. The number line will never be able to illustrate
infinity. One could negate every number on a number line and still not arrive at
infinity. Therefore, Descartes concludes that God does exist and therefore is not an evil
deceiver. Because God has supplied us with the innate ideas of perfection and infinity,
God, therefore, must be infinite and perfect. Descartes states that, "Whence it is clear
enough that he cannot be a deceiver, for the natural light teaches us that deceit stems
necessarily from some defect"(Descartes 131). Since God is perfect he is not an evil
deceiver. It is important to realize that by the time Descartes has reached his Fourth
Meditation he has proved three important things. The first is that doubt is not
universal. The second is that there is a general rule of truth. The third is that God
exists and cannot be an evil deceiver. However, Descartes raises a question: If God
exists and cannot be an evil deceiver then why are humans imperfect and perpetually
making errors? Descartes explains this through the explanation of free will. Descartes
states that God has given all humans free will. This is the cause of human error. Because
we have free will, humans are able to make choices and decisions free from the influence
of God. Sometimes free will interferes with God's ability to help humans and therefore
humans sometimes make poor decisions. If God did not give humans free will than God would
play a direct role in every decision made by humans. It is because God gives humans free
will that allows for human error. Descartes Fifth and Sixth Meditations begins with the
establishment of his remaining doubts and the application of what he has discovered. The
first question deals with the essence of color, mathematical, and geometrical truths. The
second is the existence of people and things. The third is determining the difference
between dreams and reality. Descartes reiterates that God is not an evil deceiver and
therefore he can clearly conceive something to be true. He reiterates that if he
conceives God correctly then God is perfect. Imperfection is not compatible with God's
omnipotence. A non-existent thing cannot be perfect. Even a non-existent perfect thing is
imperfect and all perfect things are perfect. Descartes also restates that a perfect
thing cannot deceive. With this knowledge, Descartes proceeds to solve his second
problem. The existence of corporeal(physical things) exist with certainty. Since God is
not an evil deceiver, the idea of physical things is accurate. Although some perceptions
will still be blurry and may confuse Descartes objects do indeed exist. He concludes that
he just has to be more judgmental of those perceptions. But as concerns other things,
which are either only particular, as,, for example, that the sun is of such a size and
shape, etc., or are perceived less clearly and distinctly, as in the case of light, sound
and pain and so on, although they are very doubtful and uncertain, nevertheless, from the
fact alone that God is not a deceiver, and has consequently permitted no falsity in my
opinions...(Descartes 158) Descartes now knows for certain that he has a body. Descartes
realizes that, "...I have a body, which is ill disposed when I feel pain, which needs to
eat and drink when I have feelings of hunger or thirst etc."(Descartes 159). Because of
these feeling that Descartes has and because God is not an evil deceiver than Descartes
is indeed lodged in a body and is an entire entity with it. Descartes finally analyzes
his third doubt. He now has the ability to distinguish between being awake and dreaming.
When we are awake, Descartes states, are mind flows in an uninterrupted, continuous
sequence. When we are dreaming, our mind does not flow in a consistent, and undisturbed
sequence. When a person has a break in the consistency of events, they are dreaming.
...when I perceive things which I clearly know both the place they come from and that in
which they are, and the time at which they appear to me, and when, without any
interruption, I can link the perception I have of them with the whole of the rest of my
life, I am fully assured that it is not in sleep that I am perceiving them but while I am
awake(Descartes 168) After establishing certainty to his doubts, Descartes states, "And I
must reject all the doubts of the last few days as hyperbolic and ridiculous,
particularly the general uncertainty about sleep, which I could not distinguish for a
wakeful state..."(Descartes 168). With that Descartes concludes his meditations and
uncertainties. Although Descartes makes a sound argument there were some people that
disagreed with his theories. One of those people was John Locke. The beliefs of Locke,
who was an empiricists, were similar to those of the Sophist during the time of Socrates.
He argued that when a person was born their mind was empty. A person obtained knowledge
through experiences. He also felt that if a person misinterpreted an experience it could
lead to doubt or skepticism. Locke tries to prove Descartes wrong by saying that there
are no innate ideas. He states that by understanding our own mind we can deter doubt.
Locke proposes three separate possibilities about truth. The first is that there is no
such thing as truth. The second is that there is no way to obtain truth. The third reason
is that we can understand implied things but not be absolutely certain about them. Locke
believed that we never deal with certainty and everyday we deal with possibility. ...and
it will be unpardonable, as well as childish peevishness, if we undervalue the advantage
of our knowledge and neglect to improve it to ends for which it has given us, because
there are some things that are set out of the reach of it.(Locke 57). Locke states that
not all innate ideas come from "natural ability". He says that a universal consent does
not prove innate ideas. They could arise from experience. Locke supports this theory by
saying that innate ideas are neither in children nor idiots. If these ideas were innate
then everyone would have them. He further states that mathematical truths are learned
from experience and are not innate ideas. Descartes and Locke were two men with
completely different views. They each set out to prove their own existence in a different
fashion. Although they do not agree with each other, each one of them presents a clear
and intelligent argument. It is these arguments that have encouraged the human race to
consider the possibility of existence long after the death of Descartes and Locke. People
will continue to debate their viewpoints for years to come and maybe, one day we will
know the meaning of existence.