A Method of Doubt and Descartes

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A Method of Doubt and Descartes

In his first meditation, Descartes sets out with amazing clarity and persistence to clear himself of every false idea that he has acquired previous to this, and determine what he truly knows. To rid him of these "rotten apples" he has developed a method of doubt with a goal to construct a set of beliefs on foundations which are indubitable. On these foundations, Descartes applies three levels of skepticism, which in turn, generate three levels at which our thoughts may be deceived by error. Descartes states quite explicitly in the synopsis, that we can doubt all things which are material as long as "we have no foundations for the sciences other than those which we have had up till now"(synopsis:12). This skepticism also implies that doubt can free us from prejudices, enabling the mind to escape the deception of the senses, and possibly discover a truth which is beyond doubt. The first and main deception in Descartes opinion has evolved from sense perception "What ever I have up till now accepted as most true I have acquired either from the senses or through the sense. But from time to time I have found that the senses deceive, and it is prudent never to trust completely those who have deceived us even once"(1:18[13]). At the root of our beliefs, Descartes argues, lie the experiences we gain from our senses, because these are sometimes mistaken, as in the case of mirages or objects which appear small in the distance, and because of this he will now forfeit all of his most reliable information . More importantly it may be to follow in the steps of Plato and require knowledge that is certain and absolute ( Prado 1992 ). This argument consists of four main premises: 1. All that he has accepted as tru...

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...nd necessary, "When Descartes begins to doubt in an epistemological mode, he cannot stop short of doubting whether Cartesian Doubt 9 he himself exists as a doubter" (Prado 1992). . Perhaps, when the poet Charles Bukowski said "the more crap you believe, the better off you are," he realized that such an extensive doubt can be harmful to the majority of people, because they are in fact "better off" believing in their senses, their God, and their ability to determine whether they are sleeping or awake. It is possible that it may be beneficial to live and die being deceived, and be ignorant to that deception, than to live and die searching for truth where truth may not be found, for the true determinant to whether such an extensive skepticism is beneficial or necessary depends on the individual. Neither Descartes nor Bukowski can speak for anyone other than themselves.

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