Descartes

Front 1

the existence of the material world

Back 1

all clear and distinct ideas of the external world rightly represent this world because God is not a deceiver so he would make sure that these causes are as the ideas represent them to be

Front 2

rules for avoiding falsity

Back 2

withhold judgment from ideas that are not clear and distinct

Front 3

rules for obtaining truth

Back 3

affirm ideas that are clear and distinct

Front 4

conceptual distinctions

Back 4

there are 3 ways that we can conceive A and B:
1. A without B and vice versa
2. A without B but not vice versa
3. We cannot conceive neither A nor B without the other

Front 5

metaphysical distinctions

Back 5

real distinction: A can exist without B and vice versa

modal distinction: A can exist without B but not vice versa

reasoned distinction: neither A nor B can exist without the other

Front 6

arguments for the distinction between mind and body

Back 6

conceivability argument:
1. i can clearly and distinctly conceive my mind with my body

2. i can clearly and distinctly conceive my body with my mind

3. if i can conceive of A without B and B without A, then God can make A without B

4. but if A can be made without B, then A is distinct from B

5. Therefore, the mind is really distinct from the body

divisibility argument
1. if S1 has capacity (c) at time (t) and S@ lacks this C at T, then S1 and S2 are really distinct

2. body is divisible

3. mind is divisible

4. therefore, the mind is distinct from the body

Front 7

source of error

Back 7

error is privation (the state of being deprived), so it can't be something that God invented

error depends on intellect and will
- intellect: enables us to perceive ideas which are possible objects of judgment. so intellect is not a faculty of judgment. it is by intellect that we clearly or confusedly perceive ideas

- will: consists in ability to affirm or deny, to avoid or pursue the ideas that the intellect presents. it has a scope outside pursuit of truth and goodness. error happens when the will makes a judgment even though the intellect presents a confused idea

Front 8

impossibility of deception

Back 8

1. if God created a faculty in us that made us have false judgments He would be a deceiver

2. if judgments about clear and distinct ideas can be false, God would have created in us a faculty that necessitated us to make false judgments

3. but God is not a deceiver

4. therefore, our judgments about clear and distinct ideas cannot be false

Front 9

arguments for the existence of God

Back 9

first causal argument:
1. the idea of God cannot be built out of the idea of ourselves

2. therefore, the idea of God has more reality than us

3. therefore, the cause of God must be outside of ourselves

4. the only thing that has as much formal reality as the idea of God has objective reality would be a thing that has all of the attributes of God

5. God is the source of our idea of God

6. God exists


ontological argument:
1. if we can clearly and distinctly perceive an essence, then there must be such an essence

2. we have a clear and distinct idea of God

3. therefore, God's essence exists

4. and God's essence includes existence

5. therefore, God exists

Front 10

formal vs. objective reality

Back 10

formal: what we mean when we say reality

objective: has existence of reality insofar as it is being thought about (sun exists formally in the world, as I am thinking about it, it also objectively exists)

causal principle: must be as much formal reality in the cause as there is either in the objective or formal reality in the effect

degrees of reality: the cause must have at least as much reality as the effect

1st way, ontological dependence: substances are more real than modes since substances can exist apart from their modes, but not vice versa

2nd way, order of understanding: the objective idea of an idea is greater than the formal reality of a substance if an understanding of the idea is prior to the understanding of the substance; understanding of the idea is before understanding of the substance: we can't understand the substance without first understanding the idea

Front 11

sources of our ideas

Back 11

3 sources: innate, adventitious, and fictitious

- innate: through the senses
- adventitious: physical sensation (ie. sun, heat, water, etc.)
- fictitious: constructed by us by abstracting and combining other ideas

Front 12

nature/essence of body and mind

Back 12

body: substance, occupies space, is located, has shape, lacks capacity of self movement, perceived by 5 senses

mind: thinking thing. doubts, understands, affirms, wills, denies, imagines, and has sensory perceptions

Front 13

criterion of truth

Back 13

criterion: standard by which we can determine whether something possess a certain feature

Descartes gets his criterion of truth from the cogito

clarity and distinctness: the feature of ideas or perceptions that indicates that we have attained truth is clarity and distinction

clarity: consists in vivacity and strength of perception: a clear perception compels ones attention. ex.: clarity is light filling a room so we can investigate the room's details

distinctness: consists in ideas being distinguished from other ideas. clarity does not imply distinctness, but distinctness does imply clarity (ie. pain is clear is but not distinct)