Sense Perception: Aristotle And Descartes

In adding sensory perceptions to this list, Descartes is moving away from the Aristotelian notion of the proper and common sensibles (those which are perceived by one or multiple senses, respectively). Instead, Descartes is suggesting that sense perception occurs within the mind and does not need any object present in the world in order to be experienced. Clearly, there is quite the divide between Aristotle and Descartes when it comes to this particular aspect of sense perception and how it relates to knowledge of the world.

However, Descartes also still maintains the Aristotelian mindset of an underlying and qualities of that underlying being subject to change as is evidenced in his example of the wax. Yet, it is also in this very example that

The answer is that sense perception is mostly a tool by which data concerning the world can be collected and then further tested with one’s rational mind. For instance, Descartes does not just accept the existence of his own body through simply seeing it, feeling it, etc. It is only when feeling pain correlates with some problem with the body and when hunger and thirst indicate the need of food and drink that Descartes even considers that he “should not doubt that there is some truth” in his body’s existence (Descartes 56). Furthermore, Descartes is able to discern that “there is no convincing argument for supposing that there is something in the fire which resembles heat, any more than for supposing that there is something which resembles the pain” when discussing the heat and pain apparently felt when being too near a fire (Descartes 57). With this conclusion, there is a very clear break with Aristotle in that things do not contain in themselves all the properties that one may otherwise attribute to them just based on sense perception. It is actually in a similar fashion that Descartes discerns that color, as it is perceived, need not be present