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12 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is his first objective?
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To cast all things doubtful into doubt
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What's the method?
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A radical process of methodically (systematically) doubting every class of thing. He begins with our five senses.
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What is the result at the end of Meditation One?
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He will pretend that an Evil genius exists to totally deceive him, which will help maintain our doubt of all our sense data as we are “taught by nature.” Remember – it is very difficult to ACTUALLY doubt your five senses for more than a couple seconds. Therefore we will use this mental experiment of an “evil genius.”
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What am I? Or what exists?
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“I am, I exist”... that cannot be doubted. Therefore I am a “thing that thinks.” Nothing more can be said for sure at this point. This is the famous COGITO. It means “I THINK”.
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What else does the Cogito do?
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It affirms, denies, understands, and seems also to imagine, and sense.
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Describe the wax experiment.
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The wax has certain qualities that are known to the 5 senses. After melting, the wax is still wax and can be easily identified, though it has none of the qualities it had before. Therefore, our senses cannot be trusted, and the mind should be used to describe the wax.
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How then do I PERCEIVE the wax?
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I perceive it not via the five senses (the EYES) but via the “I”, the thinking I, and the wax thus is something that is 1) extended into space, 2) flexible in its sensed qualities (color, temp., volume, firmness etc. etc. ) and 3) it is totally mutable in shape... infinitely mutable.
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Explain the Principle of Non-Contradiction
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A thing cannot be and not be, at the same time, in the same way, respect or manner. Thus I can sit or stand, but cannot do both at once.
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Explain the Three species of Ideas.
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Recall the Tic-Tac-Toe framework for Images, Volitions (desires) and Judgments. Unicorn example: image and wishes about unicorns are neither true nor false. Judgments may be false as they demand a CORRESPONDENCE between my mind's ideas and states of affairs external to me.
I have two notions of the SUN. One comes to me by my five senses as I am “taught by nature.” It appears bright in the sky about the same size as the moon, or a quarter held at arm's length. The other idea of the Sun comes from mathematics and astronomical reasoning. Both surely cannot be correct. Doubting all our senses and what we are “taught-by nature” (recall the Evil Genius) I think that the second idea that comes from my Natural Light of reasoning is correct. The Sun is much bigger than the moon, millions of miles away, etc. |
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What is the Principle of Sufficient Reason?
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Cause is always equal or greater than its effects. My example in class was the pen-marker: I'll never, ever, get more ink on the board than was present in the marker itself. Likewise I cannot get a bigger IDEA in my mind than I am, therefore that idea must come from an outside source: GOD.
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What is the origin of error?
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I make errors in judgment because my faculty of will extends beyond the limits of my limited intellect. Recall the circle chart made on the board. One faculty extends as far as God's Will, the other faculty, the intellect, is very limited. Recall that the intellect is 'like' a computer in that if it is used properly it will never make mistakes. Mistakes happen because I will (desire) to go beyond my range of knowledge.
My will exceeds my intellect |
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How does Descartes compare the faculty of Sense-imagination to the faculty of Intellect?
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Using a thousand sided regular polygon he says the Imagination is very, very weak compared to the intellect.
On the other hand the imagination is very VIVID, but the intellect is not very vivid. So, be able to compare the various faculties (powers) of the mind: will, intellect and imagination specifically. Also be sure to know the Captain/Ship/Sea metaphor. The captain is YOUR MIND, the ship is your BODY, and the Sea is Nature (the world, the universe, the cosoms, the WHOLE. IN the end its just: SOUL, NATURE, GOD. |
