Arguing with Descartes

Meditation 1Foundationalism•No justification•Scientific knowledge

Methodology•‘Basket of apples’ incoherent

Empiricism•Counterfeit coins•Dreaming argument - simples

- evil demon- truth

Meditation 2Cogito• Still requires prior knowledge (Kant)• Misconception of ‘knowledge’

(Wittgenstein)• Suppressed premise in syllogism – but no• Unjustified claim to ‘I’ (self)

Substance• ‘properties’ never separated• ‘substance-less’ properties

Meditation 2

Clarity of mind• Doubtfulness of conscious thoughts• Are consciousness and thoughts separate

(Hobbes)?

Wax Argument• Objects are never ‘pure extension’ (Quinton)• Mind not defined/explained positively (Gassendi)

- mind unique

- mind not mechanistic

Meditation 3

Clear and distinct perception

• Criterion not self-evident

• Self-evidence wholly subjective

• Directness not uniform or unchanging

• Criterion too narrow

Meditation 3

Trademark argument• No knowledge of ex nihilo• No knowledge of hierarchy of intentional

reality• Knowledge of perfection inadequate• Implausibility of causation of ‘idea’/’real’

Circular argument• Hence flawed - memory

Meditation 4

Making judgements

• Problems of clear and distinct perception

• Impossibility of Descartes’ method

• Problem with knowledge of consciousness

Meditation 5

Essence of material things

• A priori knowledge (not from senses, not dependent on his will)

Ontological argument

• Defining existence as a property

- God is special

• Illegitimacy of comparison (‘idea’/’real’)

Meditation 6Reliability of senses• Necessity of God

Dualism• Exceptions to Leibniz’ law (med 2)• Brain-mind interdependence (Gassendi)

- property dualism• Involvement of clear and distinct perception• Extension not essentially not a part of mind (Arnauld)

- cannot be knowable• Uncertainty of particularity (one-to-one plus

permanence)• Interaction of mind/body

- oneness of these