PHIL 1110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Cogito Ergo Sum, Empirical Evidence, Foundationalism
Descartes’ Meditations (readings on pages 94 and 173)
Descartes’ Epistemology:
(i) Rationalism: Knowledge is founded on reason and not sense experience (compare
Plato).
(ii) Foundationalism: Certain truths serve as the justificatory basis for other truths but do
not require justification themselves, i.e., certain truths are self-evident.
First Meditation
The Method of Doubt: In order to determine which (if any) truths are foundational Descartes
proposes that we put aside anything that is in principle possible to doubt.
(i) The dream hypothesis: All empirical truths are in principle doubtable.
(ii) The malicious demon hypothesis: The truths of mathematics and geometry are in
principle doubtable.
Second Meditation
One indubitable truth: cogito ergo sum
The test of truth: Clarity and distinctness as revealed by reason
The wax example: An illustration of Descartes’ rationalism
Descartes’ Philosophy of Mind: Dualism:
(i) Epistemological Dualism: The mind and the body are known in different ways,
specifically, the mind is better known than the body
(ii) Metaphysical Dualism: The mind is a thinking thing and not spatially extended while
the body is a spatially extended thing and non-thinking
Third Meditation (not in our textbook)
Descartes offers a version of the ontological argument for the existence of God (see Nagel notes for
the ontological argument). He needs this argument to reclaim the truths cast into doubt in his
Second Meditation.
Fourth Meditation (not in our textbook)
The cause of error: Our intellect is finite but our will to believe is infinite.
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Document Summary
Descartes" meditations (readings on pages 94 and 173) Descartes" epistemology: (i) rationalism: knowledge is founded on reason and not sense experience (compare. Plato). (ii) foundationalism: certain truths serve as the justificatory basis for other truths but do not require justification themselves, i. e. , certain truths are self-evident. The test of truth: clarity and distinctness as revealed by reason. The wax example: an illustration of descartes" rationalism. Descartes offers a version of the ontological argument for the existence of god (see nagel notes for the ontological argument). He needs this argument to reclaim the truths cast into doubt in his.
