Descartes Discussion Questions

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11) What are the reasons Descartes identifies for believing his ideas resemble things outside his mind? Does he think these are good reasons? Why or why not? (§38) Descartes reasons that he has been “taught by nature” and “driven by spontaneous impulse” to believe his ideas he resemble things outside his mind. He does not think these are good reasons as these natural impulses have misled him in the past and that it does not have much degree of certainty or reasoning.
(12) Explain, in your own words, Descartes’ analogy between the heat in or of an object and the idea of heat. (§41) Heat cannot exist in a subject unless components of heat are introduced to the subject. Same as Descartes’ idea of heat, that there must be a form of reality he perceives to be the components of heat in order for him to conceive this idea.

(13) What is the only idea Descartes thinks could not …show more content…

What is the rule for believing only what is true? (§62) Are you satisfied with this rule? Will following it enable us to be assured of believing only what is true? Why or why not? According to Descartes, to avoid error we must follow the rule to only pass judgment on clear and distinct perceptions. Descartes have convinced me that this rule is true because clear and distinct perceptions cannot be doubted, such as the Cogito rule. If for example I doubt the Cogito, that doubt itself proves that I exist(which is a clear and distinct perception).Thus, to pass judgment only to clear and distinct perceptions will allow us to not get deceived and believe to only what is absolutely true.
(16) What is it about the properties of triangles that Descartes thinks could not have been made up by him? (§64) Descartes states that the essence of a triangle is “unchangeable and eternal”, and cannot be fabricated by him. The triangle consists of properties that is real even when he wasn’t thinking of these properties when he first imagined the

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