a few thoughts…

Similar to many other philosophers, Descartes questions what is real and what isn’t, but also brings into consideration the action of doubt. Meditation I describes Descartes’ concept of “the sphere of the doubtful”, which is basically his interpretation of his existence and the things he once thought were true. He boldly begins his thoughts with the statement “I must once for all seriously undertake to rid myself of all the opinions which I had formerly accepted, and commence to build anew from the foundation, if I wanted to establish any firm and permanent structure in the sciences” (6). This to me is a pretty dramatic thing to say when evaluating your former beliefs, but I understand that he’s trying to explain how everything he thought was absolute can actually be some amazing illusion.

Descartes definitely assures his audience that he isn’t attempting to prove that everything in the world isn’t real or the truth, but he is exploring the idea that everything he has learned has been through his senses. So he argues, if everything we learn is through our senses and our senses often deceive us, then, how can we trust that our senses have led us to the truth? Now our senses can be deceiving, such as visual illusions or hearing things that might not be there, but Descartes believes that denying the existence of his hands and body is just as crazy as a person who is “devoid of sense” (7). Going forward with the idea of mistrusting senses, he adds that because we can dream about our eyes, hands, colors, etc., then on some level these general things represent something that is real and in existence.

Science and math could be argued in the same way, for Descartes, since even if a person is dreaming, 2+3 always equals 5, and a square will always have four sides. Because these basic mathematical concepts are ancient and commonly agreed upon, Descartes feels there are more reasons to believe in science and math than there are reasons to deny these basic truths. As for Descartes’ beliefs of God and his intentions, he writes that God “is said to be supremely good” (8), so why would he intend to purposely deceive a person? The explanation Descartes presents us with is that there is an evil genius that is just as powerful as a god, and who’s sole plan is to deceive him. Therefore, if a person finds themselves doubting something, then there must be someone that is being deceived. Basically, Descartes is saying that you must exist in order to even be thinking about deception.

Although his justifications are kind of abstract, I think Descartes has made a good point. Doubting something as extreme as your own body and mind is just as crazy, if not crazier, as thinking that you really do exist. And, if you can dream things as simple as your hands and colors that occur in your world when you are awake, then I think it’s a clear indication that it does exist and it isn’t just a person’s imagination. When people dream, they are imagining things they already know exist like objects and people they’ve seen. I don’t think it’s possible for a person to imagine an entirely new concept or thing that they haven’t already come across, which is why when we see a representation of a familiar thing in a dream it’s a confirmation of something that is in existence.

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