CAS PH 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Cartesian Doubt, Solipsism
Document Summary
You have to exist in order to doubt. Even if i am deceived about everything, there is something that exists and that is deceived. If you think you"re thinking, you are thinking. Ex: it seems like i am (verb)ing but actually i am dreaming. If the evil deceiver is deceiving you even if these thoughts come from the evil deceiver, they are still your thoughts. If you think you are doing these things, you are doing these things. Solipsism: i can only be certain that i exist, not that anyone else exists. I know for certain that i exist when i am thinking. Because you could"ve come into existence minutes ago. All that is certain: i am thinking now, so i exist now. Ball of wax: properties of the wax change as the wax melts. We grasp the essence of wax through our mind, not through our senses or imagination.