The Argument Put Forward By Descartes Essay - 982 Words

In this essay I will be exploring the argument put forward by Descartes whereby he can conclude that there is an external world. I will be looking into his ideas to do with the difference between imagination and intellect and breaking the main points he puts forward in explanation of the existence of the external world that surrounds us. I will then look into multiple objections to Descartes ideas and show why I believe Descartes argument stands up against criticism. At the start of Meditation VI, Descartes begins by proposing that imagination is distinct from pure understanding. The mind, when it understands, in a sense turns toward itself and looks at one of the ideas that are in it, whereas when it imagines, it turns towards the body, and intuits in the body something that conforms to the idea (Descartes, Weissman, and Bluhm, 1996, p. 93) As a substance dualist, this idea was important to Descartes since the imagination is evidently linked to physical objects through the senses while understanding does not require the presence of physical objects or their images: they are two quite separate things. With Descartes concepts on imagination and understanding in mind, we can look back to the argument he offered for dualism presented in Meditation II, which many see as inadequate. Many philosophers believe that Descartes was not committed to this as an argument since it was badly constructed and weak. Descartes himself seems to admit this fact in replying Arnauld, one ofShow MoreRelatedThe Mind Argument And The Evil Demon Argument1218 Words   |  5 PagesRenÃ'  Descartes is known to be the â€Å"founder of modern philosophy† aswell as a man who was superior in the scientific revolution. As a catholic and a man of science he wanted to show how the scientific world had space for God and freedom which hence led to the Mediditions published in 1641. In the first meditation Descartes introduces the idea that in order for him to establish anything in the sciences which is â€Å"stable and likely to last† he must build truths of which he can be certain. In order toRead MoreThe Dream Argument by Rene Descartes Essay1008 Words   |  5 Pagesfamous arguments, from his not only from his first meditation but all of the meditations, is his Dream Argument. Descartes believes that there is no way to be able to distinguish being in awake from being in a state of dreaming. 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