PHL 201 Study Guide - Final Guide: Thought Experiment
26 Apr 2016
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The wax argument is a thought experiment that was created ren descartes. Descartes starts off by looking at what he can know about the piece of wax by the means of the senses: its taste, smell, colour, shape, size, hardness, etc. He then asks what happens when the piece of wax is placed near the fire and melted. Well, all of these sensible qualities change, for instance, after being placed near the fire, the wax turned from being hard to soft. But nonetheless, the same piece of wax still remains. Our knowledge that the solid piece of wax and the melted piece of wax are the same cannot come through senses since all of its sensible properties have changed. Next, descartes considers what he can know about the piece of wax, and concludes that he can know only that it is extended, flexible and changeable. Instead, he concludes, that he knows the wax by means of just the mind.
