PHIL 2010H Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Dualism (Philosophy Of Mind)
2 May 2017
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Problem: descartes is looking for an axiom for human knowledge in general. Problem: i exist, then, as a thinking thing. Look for a mark of truth in the characteristics of the thoughts themselves, such as clarity and distinctness. The idea of a perfect god and my idea of perfection in this case. I could be the cause of most my thoughts--- if true, they represent realities no greater than my own that i could easily imagine; if false, they could be effects of flaws in my mental processes. My idea of god is the idea of a perfect being. Conclusion: therefore a perfect being must exist as the cause of this idea in me. As a general rule, there is nothing about any of my thoughts or ideas that assures me that the thing they represent exists in reality. In other words, existence is not an essential property of the things represented in my thoughts.
