PHL 708 Lecture 9: PHL 708 - Ryerson University - Lecture 9 - Discussion - October 5, 2016
7 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Sharply separated from all other perceptions according to descartes. Enables one to determine what does and does not belong to the object of the idea. For example, a clear and distinct idea of a triangle allows you to see that such a figure has three sides and three angles, having an interior angle sum of 180 degrees; that it cannot have four angles. Descartes regards mathematical theorems as prime examples of what is clear and distinct. Causal principle: if an idea contains a certain amount of objective reality, then it has a cause that contains formally, as much reality as the idea has objectively. This principle is an application of the principle of sufficient reason. Principle of sufficient reason: everything has a sufficient explanation or cause. Descartes applies this principle to not only existence but also to degrees of reality. So, if something exists, then it has a cause that contains at least as much reality as it does.
