PHI-10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Formally Real Field, Circular Reasoning, Begging The Question
Document Summary
I am and i am a thinking thing are incorrigible- they are impossible to doubt. They have a special psychological character: they are perceived (cognized) with clarity and distinctness. While perceiving them, clearly and distinct perceptions spontaneously and irresistibly command our assent. The truth rule (tr): whatever i c&d perceive is true. If i c&d perceive that p, then p. To secure tr descartes must eliminate the possibility that there could be a deceptive god (nature doubt) So: seeks certainty that (1) god must exist and (2) cannot be a deceiver. Two interpretations of the role that the proof of a non-deceptive god is supposed to play: The epistemic interpretation: knowledge of god"s existence removes any good reasons to doubt. Psychological interpretation: knowledge of god"s existence removes the psychological possibility of doubting tr. The idea of god an idea of being with infinite objective reality. Nothing can have more reality than its cause.
