Descartes Discussion Questions

11) What are the reasons Descartes identifies for believing his ideas resemble things outside his mind? Does he think these are good reasons? Why or why not? (§38)

Descartes reasons that he has been “taught by nature” and “driven by spontaneous impulse” to believe his ideas he resemble things outside his mind. He does not think these are good reasons as these natural impulses have misled him in the past and that it does not have much degree of certainty or reasoning.

(12) Explain, in your own words, Descartes’ analogy between the heat in or of an object and the idea of heat. (§41)

Heat cannot exist in a subject unless components of heat are introduced to the subject. Same as Descartes’ idea of heat, that there must be a form of reality he perceives to be the components of heat in order for him to conceive this idea.

(13) What is the only idea Descartes thinks could not

have come from himself? (§43-46)

(a) How does he describe or define this idea?

Descartes states that the idea of an infinite substance, God, could not have come from himself.
(b) Why couldn’t it have come from him?

This is because since Descartes thinks of himself of a finite substance, thus the idea of an infinite substance (God) must have originated from the infinite substance itself.
(c) What conclusion is to be drawn from the fact that this idea could not have come from him?
Descartes concludes that the idea of God’s existence is “the most true, the most clear and distinct” of all his ideas.

(14) At §54, Descartes says “it seems to follow from this that I am never capable of making a mistake”. What is the argument (the “this”) that leads to this conclusion? What problem does this raise for Descartes?
The argument is that since God exists and created him, he thus receives his judgment ability from God. He concludes that since God does not wish to deceive him, he should be incapable of making a mistake since God has gifted him with this faultless ability. However, this seems to raise a problem with Descartes as it is proven that from time to time that Descartes is subjected to countless errors.

(15) How, according to Descartes, can we avoid error?

What is the rule for believing only what is true? (§62) Are you satisfied with this rule? Will following it enable us to be assured of believing only what is true? Why or why not?

According to Descartes, to avoid error we must follow the rule to only pass judgment on clear and distinct perceptions. Descartes have convinced me that this rule is true because clear and distinct perceptions cannot be doubted, such as the Cogito rule. If for example I doubt the Cogito, that doubt itself proves that I exist(which is a clear and distinct perception).Thus, to pass judgment only to clear and distinct perceptions will allow us to not get deceived and believe to only what is absolutely true.

(16) What is it about the properties of triangles that Descartes thinks could not have been made up by him? (§64)

Descartes states that the essence of a triangle is “unchangeable and eternal”, and cannot be fabricated by him. The triangle consists of properties that is real even when he wasn’t thinking of these properties when he first imagined the

triangle.
(17) Why, according to Descartes, is it contradictory to suppose that God does not exist? (§66)
Descartes argues that the essence of God is existence. And since existence is a clear and distinct perception of his, thus it is not possible that God does not exist.
(18) How is the example of the chiliagon supposed to illustrate the difference between imagination and intellect? (§72-73)

Simply, having an idea(intellect) of a chiliagon does not necessarily result in forming a mental image(imagination) of the chiliagon(A chiliagon can be understood but not imagined.) Descartes states that he can clearly and distinctly perceive the properties of the chiliagon but has difficulty in forming a mental image of it.

19) In §78, Descartes presents an argument for a position that has come to be known as “Cartesian Dualism”: the view that the mind and body are distinct and separate entities. What is this argument?

In “Cartesian Dualism,” Descartes argues that he clearly and distinctly perceive his mind as a “thinking thing” and a “non-extended thing,” while his body is a “non-thinking thing” and an “extended thing.” Thus, he concludes that the mind and body are two separate beings, in which the mind can exist without the body.

(20) In §78-80, Descartes gives an argument for the conclusion that he can, in general, be sure that the beliefs he forms on the basis of his senses are true. Summarize this argument. How do the conclusions of the previous Meditations play into this argument?

Descartes states that there must be as much (formal) reality in the cause as much as in the effect. Thus, there must be a formal cause that creates his sensory perceptions and that cause must come from outside of him. His sensory perceptions must be created from something correlating and resembling with those perceptions, and since God is not deceiving him, our ideas must come from the corporeal thing itself and thus it must exist. Therefore, the beliefs that he forms from the basis of his sense must thus be true.