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"MEDITATIONS ON FIRST PHILOSOPHY".
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Summary & critique of rationalist's thoughts on reality, doubt, existence, God, mind/body duality.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Summary & critique of rationalist's thoughts on reality, doubt, existence, God, mind/body duality.

Paper Introduction:
Descartes, Rene, Meditations on First Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1979. Descartes' place in the history of philosophy is solid because he was the first rationalist thinker to reject the ideas of earlier philosophers in order to start over from the basic building block of his philosophy---"I think, therefore I exist." Earlier philosophers such as Aristotle had postulated the "truth" at the beginning of their works, then examined that "truth" in depth, assuming that their original postulation had been correct. Descartes reversed this process, beginning with the acceptance of himself as a thinking being. From that point, he reveals to himself and the reader the truth as he understands it, including God and a dualistic reality. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate his process and his findings, to provide an extended

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Fromthe conclusion that his own body exists flows the conclusion that otherbodies exist. The mind and thebody are intertwined through experience and thought and perception. Again, simply because contradictionsmight not exist in science or mathematics does not mean that they do notexist in the intentions and methods of an evil God. Still, messages from the body cannot be trusted in the same way thatclear and true thoughts from the mind can be trusted. The main points of Descartes' argument are all subject to criticism.His careful building up of his arguments is the greatest strength of thebook, but as careful as he is, he still comes to conclusions which are notentirely warranted. He assumes that an "evil genius" cannot implant thought ofgoodness and perfection, but why is this so? In addition, God as a perfect force could not be deceiving himto think thus. He also concludes that he iscreated by God, for an imperfect force such as himself could not create abeing in whom the perception of a perfect God could exist. Cosmologically, Descartessees a good universe created by a perfectly good God, based on the samefundamental belief that ideas of such reality and perfection must be true.Once more, such a conclusion unjustifiably both dismisses the existence ofan evil God and assumes that ideas of such a cosmology mean that such acosmology exists. Also, in his imperfect understanding, he admits that what seemsimperfect to him may be perfect in God's overall scheme. Again, this distinction flowsfrom his perception of a perfect God who does exist: "Once I perceived thatthere is a God . Descartes argues thatthe body is to the mind as extension in the world is to thought. Meditations on First Philosophy. He acknowledges that he asks muchof himself and of the reader, namely that we return to the beginning ofthought itself. Such a God could plantsuch a thought (that contradictions cannot exist in God) in order todeceive a man. Clear and true perception in a being subject to deception and unclearperceptions must flow from a force which is perfect and clear. Instead, he aims to acceptnothing but that which he is absolutely certain. The fact that this would be a contradiction does notdisprove such an evil God. . and that he is no deceiver, I then concluded thateverything that I clearly and distinctly perceive is necessarily true"(44). This is notjustified, because such an idea could be implanted by that "evil genius"and because perfection does not imply existence. Even thinking inaccurately about the wax proves further thatthe mind exists. . He also allows forthe play of free will in his own life, which could introduce evil andimperfection. He dependson the purity of mathematics---as a field flowing from God's purity---tojustify his conclusion that material bodies exist, because pure mathematicsflows from those things to his mind, however imperfectly. He considers and rejects again that the body with its senses can bethe basis of a truthful philosophy. He can arrive at the truth only when such truth is obvious tohim, and should "abstain from making judgments" when uncertain. Accordingly, he sees that "God endowed me with thisidea, so that it should be like the sign of an artist impressed upon hiswork" (33). Heconsiders whether he is dreaming when he thinks himself awake, andconcludes that dreams and reality are distinct in terms of clarity. I am therefore precisely only athing that thinks" (19). Such anevil God would imply a cruel and insane and contradictory world---or noworld at all---but that does not mean that it is not a fact. He maybe a computer-like "thing" which "thinks" it "thinks." Why could not anevil God plant in him the thoughts of perfection which lead him to concludethat a perfectly good God exists? The tendency is that we "dread being awakened, lest thetoilsome wakefulness" force us to live and reason "among the inextricableshadows of the difficulties now brought forward" (16). "Sensing" and "imagining" areseen by Descartes to be "nothing other than thinking" (2 ). The purpose of this book is to demonstrate his process and hisfindings, to provide an extended "discussion of the philosophicalunderpinnings for his vision of a unified and certain body of humanknowledge" (viii). . He considers that the "evil genius" isdeceiving him, but even in that case there is something---himself---whichexists because it must exist to be deceived. Why could not an evil God create in Descartes even thethought of a good God? The body can beconceived of in parts, but the mind gives Descartes a unified sense ofexistence. He argues that ideas do relate to external thingsaccurately, and that some of these ideas seem to be "innate," while othersare "derived from an external source," and still others "seem to beproduced by me" (25). His cosmological and ontological conclusions reflect the same desireto "prove" a world created and run by a good and perfect God.Ontologically, Descartes "proves" the existence of a good and perfect Godby moving from the idea of such a God to his existence. He concludes that "If I did not yet know it from any othersource, this consideration alone would suffice to teach me that the mind iswholly different from the body" (54). He argues that his perception of materialthings---including his own body---must be related to the things themselves.His thoughts are closer to his own body that to any other thing in theworld. He dismisses the possibility that he himself is God, forthere is potential knowledge in himself, while there is only complete andactualized knowledge in an omniscient God. In the Sixth Meditation, Descartes examines the "differencebetween imagination and pure intellection" (45) in order to establish thefact of material existence. Of those things---such as evil or error of thought---which he does not fully understand, Descartes writes that as a finite beinghe cannot be expected to understand all of the things that God has allowedto exist. He adds that "theperception of the infinite somehow exists in me prior to the perception ofthe finite, that is, the perception of God exists prior to the perceptionof myself" (3 ). He begins with the pure doubt thathis senses can be relied upon to report to him the truth, for his senseshave deceived him in the past. for as long as I think. . Descartes might not like it, but this does notmean that an evil God could not plant in his mind the impression that hehas a mind, that he has a body, that God is perfect and good, that there isa mind-body dualism, or any of the other conclusions he comes to. On the other hand, he treats the mind-bodydualism superficially, barely explaining it. . For the sake of seeking the pure truth, he evendoubts the existence of a good God and considers that God could be an "evilgenius" whose job it is to deceive him. Indianapolis:Hackett, 1979.----------------------- 1 This innate nature of some thoughts is crucial,because Descartes believes that there is some force within him thatdiscriminates accurately between what is true and what is not. . To thisreader, Descartes' philosophy ends up like all other philosophies,affirming a good and perfect God and a mental and physical world whichexists, introducing only the fresh thought of dualism, which he describesonly superficially. The imagination as well as the senses cannot betrusted. He discovers that all of hisconsiderations---even doubt---are expressions of his thought: "Here Idiscover that "thought is an attribute that really does belong to me. In the Third Meditation, Descartes explores the reality of God andHis power to deceive. For example, he does not fullydescribe how the mind and body interact with one another, and he seems tocontradict himself when he says that the mind can exist separately from thebody (49) but is at the same time inextricably bound up with it. He argues thatthere the truths of mathematics and science are truths which depend on theimplanting by God of scientific realities. In the Fifth Meditation, Descartes says that certain truths can bearrived at with respect to the corporeal or material realm. He examines thenature of wax, its changes and his perceptions of those changes. It is clear from his introduction---emphasizing hisbelief in God and his rejection of atheism---that he has certainassumptions in mind which will lead him to "prove" his own existence, God'sexistence and perfect goodness, innate ideas, and, finally his mind-bodydualism. In the Fourth Meditation, Descartes writes that whereas God-directedthoughts must be free of error, thoughts which are directed by his own willcan be full or error. Hediscovers little of solid truth about wax, but does concludes that the mindin its thinking about the wax can be further accepted as a basis for hisphilosophy. He imputes to God the desiresand limitations of his own mind, which rebels at the concept of an evil anddeceiving God. He is himself "some kind of middle ground between Godand nothing" (35). From that point, he reveals to himself and thereader the truth as he understands it, including God and a dualisticreality. Indianapolis:Hackett, 1979. . .I exist . In the First Meditation, Descartes abandons everything that he hadpreviously thought or read about reality. He says everything hepreviously accepted came from the senses, which can be deceived. Descartes reversed this process, beginning with the acceptance ofhimself as a thinking being. . Beyondthe fact that he is awake when he believes himself to be awake, he acceptsnothing to start with. Descartes repeats himself again and again, as if repetitionwould sway the reader, and himself, but repeating hopeful thoughts do notestablish a rational philosophy. Descartes, Rene, Meditations on First Philosophy. Descartesagain and again emphasizes his vulnerability to error, but he does notconsider that his basic conclusion that he thinks is not in error. Who, then is the "I" whichexists? BibliographyDescartes, Rene. However, once he gets beyond the existence of his mind, he acceptsrealities which he does not entirely prove. The mind (or soul, or intellect, or reason) must be separated fromall deceiving forces external or internal. In the Second Meditation, Descartes seeks "to find at least one thingthat is certain and indubitable" (17). Descartes' place in the history of philosophy is solid because he wasthe first rationalist thinker to reject the ideas of earlier philosophersin order to start over from the basic building block of his philosophy---"Ithink, therefore I exist." Earlier philosophers such as Aristotle hadpostulated the "truth" at the beginning of their works, then examined that"truth" in depth, assuming that their original postulation had beencorrect. This leadsto his apprehension of God: "The idea that enables me to understand ahighest God, one who is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipotent, andcreator of all things other than himself, has more objective reality in itthan those ideas through which finite substances are exhibited" (27).Thoughts of such a God can only come from God, Descartes concludes, and notfrom his own imperfect, finite and mortal mind. . He could nothave planted in himself such perception of the perfection of God, for he isimperfect himself. Another strength is his insistence on beginning at the verybeginning---his own thinking and mind---and on rejecting all that camebefore. However, intertwined though they may be, the mind and bodyare very different, leading to Descartes' dualism. The basic flaw in hisphilosophy is his rejection of God as an "evil genius." God as a good forceis not proved at all by his philosophy, but it is the cornerstone of histhought.

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