Questions tagged [descartes]
Questions related to René Descartes (31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650)
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Questions on Descartes' Certainty? [closed]
1)What is the certainty that Descartes discovers in the Second Meditation?
2)What does Descartes go on to attempt to prove in the Third Meditation and how is this proof related to what was ...
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80 views
Descartes’s skepticism of the external world and belief in God
There is this popular opinion that Descartes overcame his notorious doubt in the existence of the external world because of his conviction that a benevolent God exists, who wouldn’t deceive him in ...
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What are some differences between Avicenna and Descartes in regards to being unable to doubt one's own existence
Given Descartes' Cogito and Avicenna's Floating Man arguments, what are some differences between them? It appears to me that they are both arriving to the same conclusion but the process by which they ...
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1answer
56 views
Does Kant’s argument against idealism refute Cartesian epistemology?
While Kant arguably manages to show in section 65 of the Critique of Pure Reason (“Refutation of Idealism”) that the concept of a self existing through time cannot be reconciled with skepticism of the ...
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What Latin phrase did Descartes use to denote his Cartesian demon
I'm referring to the "evil demon", "malicious demon", "evil genius", etc, depending on translation. I'm looking for the original latin phrase.
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Where to find Descartes’ violin player analogy?
I really tried finding the original passage where Descartes lays out the following argument:
Descartes himself anticipated an objection like this and argued that dependence does not strongly ...
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1answer
53 views
Why isn't Descartes using psychologism?
Descartes says "I think therefore I am", isn't he using psychologism, by using a personal experience of thinking?
I had read someone claim he was against foundationalism, or specifically psychologism....
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90 views
What if the Evil Genius in Descartes' “I think therefore I am” put into our minds the action of doubting?
I am briefly aware of Descartes' argument that even if an Evil Genius made us believe that the world is real the fact that we can doubt this shows that we are thinking and that through thought we can ...
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What is Descartes arguing for in the text below?
Now it is indeed evident by the light of nature that there must be at least as much [reality] in the efficient and total cause as there is in the effect of that same cause. For whence, I ask, could an ...
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Does Descartes' internalism make him vulnerable to scepticism?
I've been reading about internalism and externalism and their responses to scepticism. I'm aware that many regard internalism as more susceptible to a sceptical attack than externalism, for example ...
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4answers
339 views
What does Descartes mean by thinking?
He says, that he cannot think that he is thinking while actually not thinking. So, the fact that he thinks that he is thinking already guarantees that he thinks.
But what kind of thinking is it? Does ...
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Does Descartes explain or define how the sensation mechanism works?
Especially in Meditation 2, Descartes uses "sense", "sensation" many times when he argues for the mind-body distinction. But does he explain the sensation mechanism?
I wonder this because it seems to ...
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Descartes on Llull's logic
I recall from readng long ago that Descartes described Llull's logic as
something that would allow one to speak on many subjects without
knowing any of them
That quote from Bonner, Art and logic ...
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4answers
259 views
Why does Descartes think that we know our mind better than we know our body?
According to Descartes we know our own mind better than we know bodies. Why does he think so? How can this view be criticized?
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134 views
free will without evil
If God is omnibenevolent and omnipotent could not we say God is capable of giving us free will without the existence of evil based on the same logic as Descartes described God's ability to lift an ...
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Have any modern philosophers redone Descartes' Meditations?
With insights we get from the cognitive sciences, and advancement in philosophy in general (such as the coherentist theory of Truth) we would definitely do the Meditations differently.
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1answer
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English translation of Descartes's Notae in Programma Quoddam?
The SEP entry on Descartes (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-works/) mentions his work "Notae in Programma Quoddam." It is referred to as "Notes on a Program-also referred to as Comments ...
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161 views
Are there any certainties besides “Cogito, ergo sum”?
Descartes said, "Cogito, ergo sum(I think, therefore I am)". I agree with him on the fact that this is the only thing that we can ever truly know for sure. Is there anyone who could tell me if there ...
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Descartes and embodiment
What does "Is this enough to enable the kinds of thought that really having a body involves?" What does this mean? What does "enable" mean exactly? what does "having a body involves" mean exactly?
...
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Does Descartes identify stimulus, perception and interpretation?
Thomas Kuhn, in The Structure of Scientific Revolution, refuses the cartesian philosophical paradigm because he separates observational stiumulus from interpretation and from sensation/interpretation ...
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If Descartes was not a ‘Cartesian’ dualist, who was?
Some scholars have made the argument that a careful reading of Descartes shows (for example, see his ship-sailor-analogy) that he himself did not actually believe in a dualism of the proverbial ‘ghost ...
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1answer
539 views
What are the best translations of Descartes books?
I'm planning on reading some of Descartes' books like Meditations on First Philosophy and Discourse on Method.
I was wondering what are the best translations of these books and if there are any free ...
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My first thought is always: I AM
This question is derivative of the question here: Could 'cogito ergo sum' possibly be false?
It is noted by authors such as Nietzsche and Kierkegaard that there are several assumptions ...
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According to Descartes, the mind and body communicate through a tiny part of the brain (the pineal gland) where the 'common sense' is located
True or False?
I'm unsure about this question because it seems like he only refers to the mind and the brain in this context, but not the body as a whole.
Here's the passage:
"The mind isn't ...
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What does Kuhn object to Descartes as regard to perception / interpretation?
Kuhn [1962/1970], in the chapter *Revolutions as Changes of World View *, says:
[…] this very usual view of what occurs when scientists change their minds about fundamental matters can be neither ...
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How can we know that we're thinking?
How can we know there isn't an illusion of thought?
This question stems from Descartes' assertion of "I think, therefor I am." He regards the notion that he thinks as an absolute fact. But how does ...
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1answer
216 views
Why does the dream argument posit that the senses are untrustworthy when it's the mind that is being tricked?
According to the wiki of the dream argument, "the act of dreaming provides preliminary evidence that the senses we trust to distinguish reality from illusion should not be fully trusted, and therefore,...
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489 views
How does Descartes' “cogito, ergo sum” affect Hume's experienced based epistemology and Kant's transcendental philosophy?
My attempts so far:
Descartes, being a rationalist, used "cogito, ergo sum" to lead to
the concept of innate ideas.
Hume, being a radical empiricist, believed in experience based
epistemology.
Kant ...
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2answers
222 views
Cartesian dualist and dualist
I was taught that Cartesian dualists were those who believe strongly that the mind and the body are entirely two separate entities while a dualist believes the same but also believes that the mind and ...
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53 views
Seeking a quote of Hegel on Descartes
Descartes The Passions of the Soul [1:31] suggested the pineal gland could mediate interaction between mind and body. Published works and lectures of Hegel's discuss that several times (as shown by ...
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2answers
736 views
Nietzche quoting Descartes… without source
In the Will to Power Nietzche quotes Descartes
omne illud verum est, quod clare et distincte percipitur
However I cannot find the quoted source. Can anyone identify it?
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Was Descartes the first one to approach metaphysics epistemologically?
In his method Descartes approaches the questions of the first philosophy, i.e. metaphysics, via the method of doubt. One could say that he has an epistemological approach, by first asking what he can ...
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1answer
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Cartesian Skepticism within a Coherentist Epistemology
I recently decided that it is high time I reacquaint myself with the early moderns, and I thought there could be no better place to start with than Descartes' Mediations on First Philosophy. Reading ...
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Descartes vs Buddha - Was Descartes wrong?
Descartes imagined an Evil Demon to suggest that the external world could be a complete illusion. This Evil Demon would have the power to trick all your senses. This idea is similar to the Buddhist ...
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1answer
562 views
Which of Descartes’ arguments for the existence of God is the most successful and why?
With regards to his 3rd Meditation and 5th Meditation proofs of God, I can't seem to find any reason to see one as being more successful than the other.
Mainly because while his ontological proof ...
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1answer
586 views
Descartes' Theory of Innate Ideas
Can you guys explain to me about Descartes' three levels of ideas. The first level represents mode, the second finite substance and third infinite substance. How do these three levels of ideas relate ...
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proofreadiing a paper on Descartes. Need help on line “a true physics…”
I'm copy editing a paper on Descartes written by an Italian in French and then translated into English. I need some help with a phrase she uses: "... a true physics..." I have no background in ...
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1answer
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Formal versus Objective Reality in Descartes
Descartes seems to define an idea as a representational mode of thought, a mode of thought which represents a certain object. For instance, the idea of the sun is a mode of thought which represents ...
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Why did Descartes believe the physical world was determined?
What justification does he give for the idea that everything in the physical world is determined?
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Is there a flaw in my construction of Descartes' argument?
I'm having a difficult time thinking of any flaw in Descartes argument.
You can coherently imagine yourself without your physical body.
If you can coherently imagine X, then you have reason to ...
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Can we doubt the existence of our thoughts and feelings? How?
I'm reading Russell's "The problems of philosophy" and he says that the only thing we can be certain about is the existence of our "Sense-data" which are mainly our thoughts and emotions. I wonder if ...
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478 views
How can Brie Gertler's disembodiment argument account for the minds of others?
I'm currently reading Brie Gertler's essay In Defense of Mind-Body Dualism. She uses Descartes' conceivability argument to make her own disembodiment argument. For example, she says someone can ...
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152 views
How do “I” know that “I” think?
"Cogito, ergo sum", "I think, therefore I am", said Descartes but how does one know that one thinks? Could "my" thoughts not be part of an illusion of someone/something else? Can "I" actually know ...
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How did Wittgenstein reject the Cogito or Cartesian dualism? Can I get the specific sources?
I have heard of the fact that Wittgenstein rejected Cartesianism by the Private Language Argument. But the connections are not clear for me. Also I'd like to know if there is any other piece of ...
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Why can't I doubt that I am doubting?
Assume that doubt is meaningfully defined. Or let's say we define doubt as , both the statement under doubt, and it's complement can be true or false, we do not know, the uncertainty exists.
Imagine ...
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Cogito ergo sum
What does Descartes mean when he uses the words "thought", and "doubt", in Cogito ergo sum.
Could you please give me possible interpretations and definitions of the words.
As the argument progresses,...
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Did Descartes really doubt the existence of God?
I've learned about Descartes' universal doubt and as I understood it, he says mind that is supposed to interact with God isn't part of res extensa and therefore isn't part of the senses we can doubt. ...
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Mathematics and René Descartes
Why are axioms of mathematics not recognized by René Descartes?
How can they be untrue? Can we not treat them as basics which are absolute and build upon them?
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Cogito ergo sum and its actual meaning [duplicate]
I think therefore i am is often accepted as true.But how do we know that the fact we are doubting something makes us real?we can be a stimulation or be dreaming.Why is the act of thinking given so ...
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913 views
Is my critique and criticism of Descartes's “I think, therefore I am”, logically valid? [duplicate]
Here is my chain of reasoning and criticism regarding Descartes’s idea.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/#2
“In the same way, I began by taking everything that was doubtful ...
