Descartes thinking substance
CONCEPT: doubt and certainty. At the beginning of the text, Descartes proposed, reject everything you can imagine in doubt. That means that Descartes means certain as truth. Despite that truth is objective and subjective certainty. On the other hand the text says three things about the questions: 1.
Serves to prevent error and discover truth. 2. methodical doubt is theoretical, practical life. 3. the question is lack of thought.
The human being doubt be recognized as a finite and an infinite perfect I would not hesitate.The text also shows how to implement the method of the doubt by examining the foundations that support, which are the senses and reason. Methodical doubt will have two levels and learn that: 1.
With the way things are questionable, since even in dreams we can see things even exist. 2. The reason could be faulty, that deceives even in the most simple and obvious.
With the doubt reaches both the sensitive and the intelligible aspect, are summarized in the hypothesis of the evil genius:which makes me hesitate when I trade with reason and not allowed to reach the absolute truth, and these questions will be kept until you find something that is beyond the power of that genius. So if I can doubt it is because I am. Thus, Descartes is in this knowledge, the first principle of philosophy. So the method of doubt has led to certainty.
CONCEPT: soul and body. A substance is something that can exist independently of anything else.
So here the self is the soul independent of the body.
And the essence of that substance is thinking, because without the thought we could not conceive. In the cogito am aware of my own existence as thinking substance, and only after proving the existence of God may ensure the reality of bodies. These bodies will have other qualities, depending on: 1.
Primary qualities, which can be defined with geometric precision. 2. secondary qualities depend on our senses
With Descartes appears a dualism between the soul, which is res cogitans, and the body, which is res extensa. The soul is thought, without parts and indivisible and the body is divisible contrary. This substantial separation between mind and body is one of the weak points of the Cartesian philosophy, as Descartes was unable to satisfactorily resolve the problem of the relationship between them.CONCEPT: thought and ideas. For Descartes thought is any activity of mind or consciousness. Therefore we classified as: 1.
Simple, are the ideas, images of things. 2. complex, which may be the same way) wills or medical condition in an idea that they represent a thing, it adds a feeling of love or hate. b) trials, where ideas are accompanied by affirmation or denial.
The ideas can be neither true nor false only light or dark, and whites in turn different or confusing. One idea is different when it can be defined. Only trials can be true or false, Although you might get confused to deny or to affirm. To avoid the error is necessary to have or to know that idea. Descartes ideas classified according to their origin: 1.Innate, born in me. 2. factitious, ideas invented by me. 3. adventitious ideas of existing things
Since this classification may be modified through the dream, Descartes distinguishes between formal and objective reality reality. So being a serious mental act of reality and being formal representation of an object, objective reality. And applies the principle of causality in which everything is the effect of some cause. theme: the cogito and the criterion of truth. The expression I think, therefore I am, not a deduction from certain premises, because there is no truth earlier. Therefore the only thing I know for sure is that I doubt or at worst dreaming,
I conclude that I am thinking, therefore I exist as a thinking thing, but not sure if I am a body. Therefore, the cogito, the fact that I’m thinking, I know by intuition, in this case an intellectual intuition, as I understand suddenly that exist as a thinking mind. If the reason was faulty and was manipulated by a deceiver, need not be true. The rule requires a foundation of truth and to find it, you have to do is eliminate the trickster God hypothesis.
Once Descartes proves the existence of an infinite and perfect God, concludes that it is a deceiver and that deception is done out of malice, and being God infinite substance, is also gracious.
It could fool but that would be incompatible with the essence of an infinite and perfect. So the certainty of the subject, is valid criterion to establish the truth of God.
theme: demonstration of God’s existence. Through the questions are absolutely unquestionable truth, the cogito “I think therefore I am.”
To restore confidence in this approach, it is necessary to consider the possible existence of an evil genius bent on wrong if I have reached the truth, the best path is to deny the existence of such a deceiver. To achieve this we will have to analyze the ideas, looking for one that involves the existence of a reality outside the self, capable of justifying the criterion of certainty: the idea of god. to demonstrate the existence of God must be based on the principle of causality: 1.
He is an infinite and eternal substance which all other things were created by him.
It is necessary to conclude that God exists as the cause of his idea in mi.2.
the idea od has been placed in me by as if I had put myself would have given me their perfections. 3.