Only the Mind Perceives
analytical Essay
663 words
Only the Mind Perceives
Descartes' overall objective in Meditations on First Philosophy is to question knowledge. To explore such issues as the existence of God and the separation of mind and body, it was important for him to distinguish what we can know as truth. He believed that reason as opposed to experience was the source for discovering what is of absolute certainty. In Meditation Two, Descartes embarks on his journey of truth. I find, in Meditation Two that Descartes has accomplished part of his journey, in that only the intellect perceives the material world.
Attempting to affirm the idea that God exists, Descartes comes upon the notion that he exists. He discovers that if he can both persuade himself of something, and likewise, be deceived of something, then surely he must exist (17 -- 18). This self-validating statement is known as the "Cogito Argument." Simply, it implies that whatever thinks, exists.
Having established his existence, Descartes now begins to explore his inner consciousness to find the essence of his being. Eventually, he focuses on the act of thinking and from this, he poses the question: "But what am I? [I am] a thing that thinks. A thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, and that also imagines, and senses" (20). To prove that perception, on the part of the mind, is more real than that of the senses, Descartes asks us to consider a piece of wax fresh from the comb (21). The qualities we attribute to the wax are those derived from the senses. When melted, the qualities that we attribute to the wax are altered and can only be known to the intellect. It is the intellect that determines that although the appearance of the wax has changed, it remains the s...
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...in my mind" (22).
Descartes finds that his essence is in his mind. He places a major importance on the intellect. I also believe it is the mind, through understanding, that leads us to our various conclusions. The point that Descartes makes here is that only through the mind can we understand the essential qualities of the wax or anything else for that matter. The melted piece of wax exhibits qualities of something that is extended, flexible, and mutable (21). These are qualities that are only clear to the intellect. I think that Descartes' main point is that if he is able to understand the wax better with his mind, then he should know himself better through the same faculty. I now find myself looking at things a bit closer and not always believing what my senses first show me.
Bibliography:
Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how descartes' objective in meditations on first philosophy is to question knowledge. he believed that reason as opposed to experience was the source for discovering what is of absolute certainty.
- Analyzes descartes' self-validating statement, known as the "cogito argument," which implies that whatever thinks exists.
- Analyzes how descartes explores his inner consciousness to find the essence of his being. he asks us to consider a piece of wax fresh from the comb.
- Explains that a scepitc might pose the argument that the intellect alone perceives the material world. it would take closer examination with our senses to determine the melted form to be wax.
- Analyzes how descartes demonstrates how the ideas of the mind are more attuned to finding knowledge, than the senses.
- Opines that descartes' point is that only through the mind can we understand the essential qualities of the wax or anything else.
Related
- analytical
- René Descartes Does Not Reject Sense Perceptionanalytical essayI contend that, based upon the arguments presented in the Second Meditation, Descartes shows that we can use our senses to help us understand the true nature of things, but the senses alone are inadequate to determine truth (since they are often deceived), and that all that may be known with certainty (truth) are those things we know by our judgment, thinking, and understanding of them in our minds. Descartes' argument does not necessarily reject any role of the senses in the process of understanding.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that their mind is responsible for their understanding of wax in the various forms it can take, but it is an inspection on the part of the mind (mentis).
- Argues that rené descartes' argument does not necessarily reject any role of the senses in the process of understanding.
- Analyzes how descartes began his argument by questioning or calling into doubt everything he knew about himself and the world. he equates mind, intellect, understanding, reason, and soul with thinking.
- Analyzes how descartes explains that the senses provide the raw material for the operations which the mind performs.
- Argues that the wax illustrates the difficulty of relying on our senses for an understanding of the world around us.
- Explains descartes, rené's meditations on first philosophy: in which the existence of god and the distinction between the mind and body are demonstrated.
- Explains that both the veitch and cress translations seem to ignore the latin word animus which descartes listed between mens and intellectus.
2400 wordsRead More - Descartesian Epistemology Essayanalytical essayDescartes was born 1596 in France. At eight years old he was already in college. Descartes was a scientist and was also known as the father of modern Western Philosophy. He is famous for his book “The mediations of philosophy,” first published in 1641. He is much like me because he refused to stem off other philosophers thought. Instead, he created his philosophy. He is most famous for his quote “I think therefore I am.” This paper will include Descartes doubt, Descartes the cogito, his knowledge of the material world. The principles of the Cartesian epistemology. The “light of nature.”
In this essay, the author
- Explains that descartes was born 1596 in france and was the father of modern western philosophy. he is famous for his book "the mediations of philosophy."
- Analyzes how descartes epistemology is sensible because he doesn't start his study with the study of the nature of reality, like milesians.
- Analyzes how descartes argues that even the evil genius cannot deceive him or his existence.
- Analyzes how descartes contradicts himself when talking about the knowledge of the material world and god in one. he expresses that we have no reason to believe that all bodies exist exactly as i perceive them by sense.
- Explains descartes' concept of knowledge in conception to doubt. it is based on a person's conscious state of mind, beliefs, desires, and sensory states.
- Explains that descartes believed that the latter principle results from a blind impulse. it is revealed to him by the light of nature which cannot be doubted in any way.
1226 wordsRead More - It is human nature to question our origins and wonder if we have purpose in this world. Rene Descartes sought to answers these questions by examining himself and God through his Meditations. In Meditation II, Descartes believes his mind is certain because he is able to perceive and understand thoughts. His many questions lead him from one idea of certainty to the next. The explanations of these ideas are clear enough for his argument to be considered true.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rene descartes sought to answer these questions by examining himself and god through his meditations. his many questions lead him from one idea of certainty to the next.
- Analyzes how descartes' mind began to race in his first meditation. he pondered if the facts and truths he knew before are still the same as they once were. the epiphany made him seek out only concepts that are certain and cast out all that holds the slightest doubt.
- Analyzes how descartes is traveling on an uphill slope and starts off maintaining hope he will discover a certain fact. his mind turns to the idea of nothing is certain, but cannot fully invest in it because of doubt.
- Analyzes how descartes turns to god as if he is the cause for his doubts about certainty. his conscience mind's ability to be deceived ensures he is something.
- Explains that descartes' argument can be viewed as true. a mind is certain when it has the ability to not only think, but comprehend.
- Analyzes how descartes used logic in other examples to further bolster his claim. the mind creates images to produce a reality of what the body is.
- Analyzes how descartes placed the wax close to the fire and watched it melt. he asked, "does the same wax still remain after this change?"
- Analyzes how descartes offered emotion in his argument by asking numerous questions throughout his process. the tone and choice of words begged the reader to ask those same questions.
- Concludes that descartes' background in mathematics and philosophy makes the argument more valid. both use logic when tackling a tough problem.
- Analyzes how descartes did not end his assumptions after this meditation, but felt he had come a bit closer to achieving certain knowledge.
628 wordsRead More - Rene Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophyanalytical essayRene Descartes just proved to us two things throughout this essay. One being how we can tell that things actually exist and the other was how the mind can grasp and perceive the wax.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rene descartes explained to us in his book how wax changes its forms so quickly when it is close to fire. but when we are done melting the wax, we still call it wax.
- Explains that rene descartes was asking himself three questions after his experiment. the first was, what was grasped by the changing of the wax?
- Analyzes how rene descartes decides to piece together how his imaginations perceive the wax.
- Analyzes how rene descartes proved to us that our imagination is not able to grasp all of the perceptions of wax but the mind is.
- Analyzes how rene descartes said that the imagination was unable to grasp all of what we need to perceive about the wax, but now he is saying different.
- Analyzes how rene descartes decides to explain how we can actually tell that the wax exists before he tells us how to find out what grasps the whole perception on it.
- Opines that after all the mind games he has been playing with us and telling us how we actually know if something exists, the man is finally going to explain to us what can actually do the grasping to perceive the wax.
- Describes descartes, rené, and donald a. cress' meditations on first philosophy.
- Analyzes how rene descartes experiments with wax to prove that things exist in this world.
- Analyzes how rene descartes proved to us that things actually exist and the mind can grasp and perceive the wax.
1226 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Descartes's View Of Thinkinganalytical essayClaiming that the different senses have perceived in him the way once was before it came in contact with the heat, but still remains the same, although being perceived in a different way, but with the same senses as before except for it being liquid after the heat but remains with the same other traits he mentioned. Therefore, this is how he establishes his claim of the Aristotelian intellect and Cogito inference by rejecting everything and doubting its existence and separating the nature of the body and mind as the body being a non-extended thinking thing such as the senses, and the mind being a thinking thing that can extend. Descartes states that he perceives the wax through the mind alone and says that perception is not an imagination, touching or seeing but it is an inspection of the mind
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how descartes claims that intellect is thinking being extended as to the aristotelian claiming intellect as a thought.
- Analyzes how the man claims to be a man and then questions why not 'rational animal'. he separates his body and sense from his mind, creating an idea that the mind is what makes the body do the things
- Analyzes how refers to himself as 'i am' in which he is referring to self and cannot refer to something else.
- Analyzes how descartes considers that 'a thing that thinks' is something that doubts, understands and affirms. he concludes he is the same that imagines even though his imagination may not be true.
- Analyzes descartes' claim that bodies that we touch and see are to be general perceptions that become more confused only in one particular body.
- Analyzes descartes' claim of aristotelian intellect and cogito inference by rejecting everything and doubting its existence and separating the nature of the body and mind.
- Concludes that descartes now knows that bodies are not perceived by senses or imagination but by intellect alone. the 'i' that he answers is the one that can doubt and be deceived.
1254 wordsRead More - The Mind and the World: Descartes Meditationsanalytical essayDescartes presents three skeptical arguments in his meditations which shows he has reason to doubt all of his sensory beliefs. Descartes ultimately aims to free himself from all bad beliefs. His quest for certainty is driven from his belief that our belief system is built on a foundation of basic beliefs, that are not justified, in turn, causing him to believe that all his other beliefs are uncertain, as well. His method for achieving a system immune from errors is described in three steps from Meditation One. Descartes three skeptical arguments pose a few objections to the plausibility to each step.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how descartes presents three skeptical arguments in his meditations which shows he has reason to doubt all of his sensory beliefs. his quest for certainty is driven from his belief that our belief system is built on a foundation of basic beliefs, that are not justified.
- Explains that descartes' method of doubt suggests that in order to find out which beliefs are stable and which are not, he will withhold assent.
- Explains descartes' third and most powerful argument for skepticism, the dream argument, where he argues if there is a way to distinguish dream from reality.
- Analyzes how descartes suggests that it may be possible that we are being deceived by an evil demon.
- Analyzes how descartes' three skeptical arguments give reason to doubt all beliefs deriving from the senses.
- Explains larkin, w. phil 111: introduction to philosophy.
995 wordsRead More - In his first meditation, Descartes proposes an argument unheard of by many, that of which the beliefs that are built upon societal foundations may be false, due to the false perception of our human senses. In this paper, I will explain why Descartes attempts to rebuild the foundations of our beliefs and explain the differences between the reality of Descartes and the socially acceptable reality. First, I will expand on Descartes ' argument against the socially accepted reality in which we do not question. Then, I will show you how Descartes defines what is truly a definitive constant of reality no matter the foundational structures they were built upon and defend it. Finally, I will use examples to show you how Descartes proves existence.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how descartes proposes an argument unheard of by many, that the beliefs built upon societal foundations may be false, due to the false perception of our human senses.
- Analyzes how descartes begins his writing by informing us of the so-called "false opinions" we have accepted without question; these false opinions are the foundational opinions/societal foundations we've assumed to be true.
- Analyzes how descartes suggests that what he has admitted to be true until now has been received or perceived through the senses.
- Analyzes how descartes questions the existence of our senses in dreams, arguing that the physical world, whether it be reality or fallacy, is our bank when adopting characteristics.
- Analyzes how descartes defines what truly is a definitive constant of reality no matter the foundational structures they were built upon or senses that perceive it.
- Analyzes how descartes begins to question existences as a whole in the second meditation, stating that everything is false. disproving existence is not as simple.
- Concludes that descartes' points are used to question the socially accepted reality/existence that is not questioned, explain definitive reality no matter the foundational structures, and describe the proof of our existence.
998 wordsRead More - Descartes Theory Of Consciousnessanalytical essayA study of Descartes explained it as, “He considers a piece of wax: his senses inform him that it has certain characteristics, such as shape, texture, size, color, smell, and so forth. However, when he brings the wax towards a flame, these characteristics change completely. However, it seems that it is still the same thing: it is still a piece of wax, even though the data of the senses inform him that all of its characteristics are different. Therefore, in order properly to grasp the nature of the wax, he cannot use the senses: he must use his mind.” Descartes concludes: "Thus what I thought I had seen with my eyes, I actually grasped solely with the faculty of judgement, which is in my mind." Therefore, consciousness starts in the organs and the moves to the sensations of the mind, and into the state where memories, values, beliefs, etc. exist. It is an emergent property.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the brain is an organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull of vertebrates, functioning as the coordinating center of sensation and intellectual and nervous activity. there is no universal agreement of what the mind is.
- Explains how energy transforms into matter, then subatomic particles, protons, neutrons, and electrons. dna then makes up cells, the basic building blocks of all living things.
- Explains quantum physics, chemistry, organic biology, and neurology, the branch of medicine or biology that deals with the anatomy and functions of nerves and the nervous system.
- Explains that when put side by side, the process of both hard and soft ware will look like this.
- Explains that consciousness is qualitative, meaningful, and has values, whereas the brain is quantitive, being and facts.
- Explains that consciousness is where impressions, dreams, memories, values, and fantasies exist. conscious is the word of origin of consciousness.
- Analyzes how descartes describes the importance of the mind through the wax argument.
1265 wordsRead More - Descartes Second Mediationanalytical essayWithin Descartes second mediation two types of philosophical ideology are in contrast with each other, which include both the empiricists and rationalists. The empiricists believe in knowledge through experience while the rationalists believe in knowledge derived from logic. Descartes uses the idea and concept of ‘wax’ to understand on what grounds the wax’s reality is. Is it truly wax? How do you know wax to be wax when it no longer looks the same, smells the same, or feels the same? Descartes uses his rational thinking mind to help him understand how he knows the wax to truly be wax even when melted. I believe in the rationalistic ideology more so then the empiricists because I value knowledge through logic more then knowledge through experience. I rather use my judgment on an unknown object then to experience what the object may be. For example, I would rather come to know that a chair is a weapon based on the judgment of that chair in the context that it is being used, rather then relying on my senses and experience. Although I hold the empirical way of thinking, knowledge through experience, to a high value, I believe that the rational way of thinking allows for a better understanding of both ideas and objects due to the importance of judgment.
In this essay, the author
- Compares the empiricist and rationalist ideologies of descartes' second mediation.
- Analyzes how descartes explains that the wax is incapable of being imagined, but the mind can perceive it because it is an inspection on the part of its mind.
- Argues that it is better to look at this scenario from the perspective of a rationalist rather than an empiricist.
- Analyzes how the rational and empiricists think differently about a hamburger, arguing that the logical view of the hamburger allows for the possibility of it not being the substance it is initially judged to be.
- Concludes that descartes believes that the rationalist way of thinking yields a much better result than the empirical way.
- Explains that the ideology behind the empiricists derives from the latin words, a posteriori, which describes the knowledge they gain by means of experience.
1703 wordsRead More - Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartesanalytical essayDescartes explains that he has a clear and distinct idea of himself as a thinking and non-extended thing, and a clear and distinct idea of his body as a non-thinking and extended thing. He argues that it is possible for God to create anything that can be clearly and distinctly perceived, and therefore if God creates something to be independent of another, they are, in fact, distinctive. Thus, because Descartes can understand himself as a thinking thing that does not require the existence of a body, and can understand his body as an extended thing that does not require a mind, that this must be truth. Therefore he concludes that the mind is a substance distinct from the body, a substance whose essence is thought.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rené descartes writes to rid pre-conceptions, and disprove all belief in thoughts that are not certain, accepting only what can be known for sure.
- Analyzes how descartes explains that he has a clear and distinct idea of himself as thinking and non-extended thing, and argues that god can create anything that can be clearly and clearly perceived.
- Explains that the mind is the aspect of the soul that pertains to thought and intellect. the soul is, as descartes correctly argues, distinct from the physical body.
- Argues that the problem of interactionism is a significant argument against this theory.
- Analyzes how descartes suggested that animal spirits interacted with the body through the pineal gland, a small gland located between the two hemispheres in the center of the brain.
- Explains that the mind and the body interact to create emotion and sensation.
- Opines that the mind is more than a function of the brain. if brains were simply matter, with no interaction with mind, then each brain would think and form opinions in the same manner.
- Explains that phineas gage's case is used by psychologists and philosophers to study the workings of the brain on personality and behavior.
- Analyzes how gage's doctor, dr. john martyn harlow, describes the drastic behavior change in his reports. he is fitful, irreverent, indulging in gross profanity, impatient of restraint or advice when it conflicts with his desires.
- Analyzes how phineas gage's case is often used to argue that personality, and one’s sense of self come from the brain.
- Analyzes how phineas gage's frontal lobe was destroyed in the case of his mind.
- Explains that the soul has two distinct components, one which interacts with a being’s emotions and passions, and another that interact with thoughts and decisions.
- Analyzes aristotle's words on the connections between soul and physical emotions and thoughts, that the body and soul must interact, but cannot be considered one unit.
- Explains phineas gage's view that the brain is simply the physical substance in which the mind, or soul, interacts with.
- Analyzes how descartes claims that the mind can exist without the material body, an impossible claim. in meditations vi, he attempts to explain the distinction between imagination and intellect.
- Opines that descartes' arguments are unsuccessful on the workings of the mind in regards imagination and intellect.
- Argues that effort is required for imagination, but not for intellectual thought. thought requires great effort, while imagination requires no effort. imagination is often unstoppable.
- Explains descartes' distinction between imagination and intellect is that imagination is formed through products of the senses, yet we can say the same about intellect.
- Analyzes how descartes concludes that the mind and body are separate and distinct, and that thought processes, emotions, memories, etc., are all results of the physical brain.
- Analyzes descartes' claim that it is possible for god to create anything that can be clearly and clearly perceived, and argues that this supports his idea of a mind capable of functioning without body.
- Concludes that the mind is the feature of the intangible soul that pertains to intellect and thought, interacting and corresponding with the physical body to generate ideas and emotions.
1576 wordsRead More