The Logic of Descartes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Logic of Descartes - Essay Example The Logic of Descartes Descartes felt the only way to obtain true knowledge was to rely solely upon human reason while ignoring the senses. Descartes wrote several books regarding the nature of existence and knowledge, providing us with plenty of material to study and has had tremendous influence on those who have come after him. These books are typically divided into segments Descartes labels meditations. In these meditations, Descartes reflects upon the nature of the individual and determines that he does indeed exist as both a physical and a metaphysical being through a detailed consideration of the various elements that contribute to his awareness. Through statements such as ‘I am not lodged in my body like a pilot in a vessel’ and ‘I am not that set of limbs called the human body’, Descartes attempts to bridge the difference between the new sciences and the sensory perceptions of the old philosophy, introducing in the process a new way of thinking about thinking. In Descartes ’ Meditations on First Philosophy (1989), Descartes states emphatically ‘I think, therefore I am.’ This simple-sounding statement is the result of a discourse in which Descartes calls into question all of the assumptions he’s come to know as a result of the philosophical thought of his day. To seek a higher version of the truth, Descartes felt it was necessary to question every assumption that had even the shadow of a doubt. Through this questioning process, he demonstrates how thought, not observation or the senses, is really the right foundation for knowledge. â€Å"When I considered that the very same thoughts (presentations) which we experience when awake may also be experienced when we are asleep, while there is at that time not one of them true, I supposed that all the objects (presentations) that had ever entered into my mind when awake, had in them no more truth than the illusions of my dreams† (Descartes, 2001). The first issue to be overco me was the concept that knowledge defined by a â€Å"clear and distinct perception† as being clear of sensation is foiled by its own dependence on the senses within the definition. Descartes argues that in order to fool a mind, a mind must first exist, indicating that the senses are not necessary to the development of a thinking being, so we must be something more than the physical material we are made of, something more than ‘the set of limbs.’ In the process of breaking down all of his perceptions to determine the very basic, deepest thought that is not based on the senses, Descartes admits that there may be some way in which all of his senses could be fooled all of the time into thinking he exists; this in itself proves his existence. â€Å"But there is I know not what being, who is possessed at once of the highest power and the deepest cunning, who is constantly employing all his ingenuity in deceiving me. Doubtless, then, I exist, since I am deceived; and, let him deceive me as he may, he can never bring it about that I am nothing, so long as I shall be conscious that I am something† (Descartes, 1989). Meditation III builds off of Descartes’ earlier idea that he exists because he is capable of thinking – â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† Assuming that what he is able to perceive as distinct must be true, he strives to erase his mind of all information that has been gained through his five senses to arrive at what he knows deep within himself. â€Å"In this item of first knowledge, there is simply a clear and distinct