Essay on perception for TOK. Descartes believed that our senses could be deceived in many different ways.

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Name: Pranav Sharma Class: 3.15 Nahum

POD ESSAY 3: PERCEPTION (DESCARTES)

Descartes believed that our senses could be deceived in many different ways. This is true to a large extent as it is quite possible for our senses to be deceived in numerous ways. However, this does not mean that our senses are not reliable at all. Descartes has provided several reasons as proof that our senses can be deceived and that they are not entirely reliable.

Some have suggested that René Descartes argues that sense perception relies on the mind rather than on the body. Descartes asserts that we can know our mind more readily than we can know our body. In support of this idea he gives the example of a piece of wax which is observed in its solid form and its liquid form. After pointing out the difficulties of relying on the senses of the physical body to understand the nature of the wax he makes this claim: Perception ... is neither a seeing, nor a touching, nor an imagining. ... Rather it is an inspection on the part of the mind alone. This quote is perhaps the most direct