Phil050

Front 1

Descartes' Formal/Objective Reality of things/ideas

Back 1

FORMAL REALITY:
OF IDEAS: process of thinking; all ideas are equal
OF THINGS: reality of a thing has simply in virtue of the fact that it exists; not equal

OBJECTIVE REALITY:
OF IDEAS: content of your idea; all ideas are not equal
OF THINGS: objective reality of things does not exist

Front 2

2 of Descartes' 3 proofs for the existence of God

Back 2

1. P1: If the objective reality (content) of one of my ideas is so great that I don't have enough (formal) reality to have caused that idea, then something else must exist which DOES have enough reality to have caused the idea in me.
P2: My idea of God does have so much objective reality that I couldn't have caused it.
C: Therefore, something else must exist which does have enough formal reality to cause my idea of God, and the only thing that could have enough reality to cause it is something that is infinite--namely, God himself, so God must exist.

2. P1: My clear and distinct idea of God, which represents God's essence, is an idea of being who has all perfections.
P2: Existence is a perfection.
C: Therefore, existence is contained within my clear and distinct idea of God's essence, and so, God must exist.

Front 3

Descartes' proof for the existence of bodies

Back 3

P1: The cause of my sensations is either (1) bodies/corporeal things, or (2)God, or (3)something more noble than bodies.
P2: Neither GOd nor something more noble than bodies can cause my sensations because in that case, God would be a deceiver, since I have a natural inclination to believe that the cause of my sensations is bodies themselves.
C: So, bodies must exist, in order to cause my sensations of them.

Front 4

Descartes' proof that there's a real distinction between mind and body

Back 4

P1: Whatever is clearly and distinctly perceived by us can be made to exist that way by God.
P2: We have a clear and distinct perception of mind/soul as a thinking, unextended thing without conceiving of body at all.
P3: We have a clear and distinct perception of body as an unthinking, extended thing, without thinking of mind at all.
C: Therefore, mind can exist independently of body, and body can exist independently of mind-in other words, mind and body are really distinct.

Front 5

2 of Berkeley's 3 arguments for the fact that there is no mind-independent reality

Back 5

1. P1: Sensible things are things we perceive
P2: A thing we perceive is an idea
C: Sensible things are ideas, and since ideas can't exist independently of the mind, neither can sensible things.

2. P1: Whatever sensible qualities vary with the perceiver (e.g. heat and cold) exist only in the perceiver.
P2: The primary qualities (extension, figure, motion) vary with the perceiver.
C: Therefore, the primary qualities exist only in the perceiver.

Front 6

Berkeley's proof for the existence of our spirit

Back 6

P1: Our ideas often change.
P2: Wherever there is change, there must be something producing the change.
P3: The change in our ideas is caused by either (1)other ideas or (2)corporeal substances (body, matter, mind-independent things), or by (3)an incorporeal substance.
P4: (1) can't cause the change in our ideas, since ideas are inert/don't have causal powers.
P5: (2) can't cause the change in our ideas, since there is no corporeal substance.
C: Therefore, the change in our ideas is caused by an incorporeal substance (spirit), and so, our spirit must exist.

Front 7

Berkeley's two types of ideas and the three differences between them

Back 7

Ideas of sensation/Ideas of real things:
1. don't depend on my will
2. strong and lively
3. ordered and coherent

Ideas of imagination/Ideas of images:
1. do depend on my will
2. weak and faint
3. disordered and produced arbitrarily

Front 8

2 of Berkeley's 5 objections and his responses

Back 8

1. Objection: On Berkeley's principles, all that is real and substantial is banished out of the world. The world of sense is simply an illusion
Reply: Sense objects do still exist, it's just that they exist in the mind. We can still distinguish between real things and imaginary things.

2. Objection: On Berkeley's theory, there's no need for sensible things to be as complex intricate as they are, given that they have no causal powers.
Reply: Things are as complex and intricate as they are so that we can distinguish among and hence order our ideas, which we need to do in order to regulate and predict what's going to happen.

Front 9

Descartes' goals for each of his 6 meditations

Back 9

Med. 1: to establish a firm foundation for knowledge/he wants to be certain that all the beliefs he holds are actually true.

Med 2: to show that there are at least three things that don't admit of doubt/that he can be certain about.

Med 3: to prove that God exists and is not a deceiver.

Med 4: to explain the cause of intellectual error and to tell us how to avoid error.

Med 5: to tell us what the essence of body/matter is and to give another proof for God's existence.

Med 6: prove the existence of bodies/corporeal things/matter and to prove that there's a real distinction between mind and body.