Lauren Dobbs “Cogito ergo sum”

Bio  Descartes was a French born philosopher from the 1600’s.  He’s most famous for his “Meditations on First Philosophy” Which consists of six different “meditations”  He originally became a lawyer but changed into philosophy.

General Philosophy Descartes’ main belief was that nothing is true if you don’t exist. Because you exist things are. His second meditation “Concerning the Nature of the Human Mind: That It Is Better Known Than the Body” says that everything we know comes from our mind because there is no external world without you. Except later in his meditations he finds Dualism, which means a body can exist without a mind and a mind without a body. He believed that there was perfection within everyone although no one was perfect

Body vs. Mind  He believed in two different substances, thinking (res cogitans) and extended (res extensa).  Thinking substances are split into infinite (God) and finite (the mind)  There was only one extended substance, finite, which connects the physical to our minds.  There are many different thinking substances possibly an infinite number

Religious Beliefs  In meditation three Descartes comes to the conclusion that God does exist.  He believed that the idea of God was innate (born within us), not factitious (invented from our imagination), or adventitious (from the outside world).

Arguments  Descartes had two arguments for why God exists. 1. Something can not come from nothing. 2. The cause of an idea must have at least as much formal reality as the idea has objective reality. 3. I have in me an idea of God. This idea has infinite objective reality. 4. I cannot be the cause of this idea, since I am not an infinite and perfect being. I don't have enough formal reality. Only an infinite and perfect being could cause such an idea. 5. So God — a being with infinite objective reality — must exist (and be the source of my idea of God). 6. An absolutely perfect being is a good, benevolent being. 7. So God is benevolent So God would not deceive me, and would not permit me to error without giving me a way to correct my errors. Formal reality is how much reality something seems to have Objective reality is how real things are.

Argument 2 1. I exist. 2. My existence must have a cause. 3. The only possible ultimate causes are a) myself b) my always having existed c) my parents d) something less perfect than God e) God 4. Not a. If I had created myself, I would have made myself perfect. 5. Not b. This does not solve the problem. If I am a dependent being, I need to be continually sustained by another. 6. Not c. This leads to an infinite regress. 7. Not d. The idea of perfection that exists in me cannot have originated from a non-perfect being. 8. Therefore, e. God exists.

Descartes vs. Plato  Both Descartes and Plato put reason at the center of their philosophies.  Both also believe in God.  The two differ in their ideas of Utopia.  The ideas of what is real differ slightly: Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Descartes metal view.

Sense Perception  Descartes viewed sense perception as unreliable.  He said we can’t trust them because what we perceive could be like wax.  Wax can be solid or liquid, hot or cooled, and the smells can differ. But just because those factors change doesn’t mean it is no longer wax. We need our mind to tell us this not our senses.

Bibliography  "Meditation II by Rene Descartes." Oregon State University. Web. 15 Feb  "SparkNotes: Descartes ( ): Themes, Arguments, and Ideas." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 15 Feb  Descartes, Rene. "Descartes - Degrees of Reality." Trinity University | Welcome. Web. 15 Feb  "René Descartes." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Feb