Talia Regenstreif

                Philosophy X21

                May 5, 2009

Philosophy Paper # 1

Descartes Meditations Descartes’ ‘Cogito Ergo Sum’ (I am, I exist) argument is a complex one. In many ways, he constructs a convincing argument for the existence of the self, and for the process of the thinking being, the essence of that self. In this meditation on his philosophy, Descartes on numerous attempts tries to convince both the readers, as well as himself, of his theory that we must reject all of our present ideas and beliefs and start from nothing. He believes that the only thing that has any certainty at this point is “his own existence as a thinking being”. Everything else, he has learned throughout his entire life and believed in, is to be thrown out because it is not known “clearly and distinctly”. Descartes’ method and theory on knowledge was well planned and carefully thought out. It is evident that he spent a great deal of time determining the principles that he would use as determinants for judging whether a specific idea was justified and true. In my opinion, there are some flaws contained in Descartes’ argument.

Descartes then states with certainty ‘Cogito ergo sum’ (I am, I exist). This is the first accurate idea that Descartes knows with any conviction, he knows that he is a “thinking being”. Descartes still does not know what he is, he says “but what then am I? A thing that thinks. What is that? A thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, and that also imagines and senses”. He is aware of his mental capacity and knows he thinks, deliberates and makes decisions, but he still rejects his body and his senses. The actuality that he was so ready and willing to accept God’s existence, while being so critical of everything else around him illustrates how careful he was to prove a God of power and benevolence. He then used his idea of God to explain and justify his existence and everything else he wants to prove as “clearly and distinctly” in his argument.

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Conceivably our senses are not the most secure basis for knowledge, but they provide us with many wonderful sensations that I personally would not be prepared to give up, simply for the knowledge that I really exist. Possibly not every idea needs to be examined, and subsequently accepted or rejected. Conceivably there is such a thing as “gut reaction”. What is true for one person is not necessarily true for another. If refusing to question and call into doubt everything that one knows and holds to be important equals remaining ignorant, then I would prefer to be ignorant. I would ...

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