Descartes Meditation 1
René Descartes, a 17th century French philosopher, has been referred to as the father of modern philosophy. Descartes works and writings on philosophy have transformed and altered the current landscape of philosophy as we know it. One of his more notable writings, Meditation I of the Things of Which We May Doubt, is still subjected to debate hundreds of years after René death. One of the major claims of this writing is that the mind is more knowable and certain than the body. This however is false. In terms of a normal human body, it is always more knowable and certain than the mind, which has the ability to mislead individuals. Throughout Meditation I of the Things of Which We May Doubt, Descartes cites many examples …show more content…
With that being said he then critiques the senses by stating “I observed, however, that these sometimes misled us: and it is the part of prudence not to place absolute confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived.”(Descartes 1) By challenging the validity of the senses he is also challenging the essence of the body since the senses are the primary function of any human. More rationale he used to discredit his senses are that he could be dreaming and this could be more of an illusion like environment. He continues by stating he could be being misled by God or even an evil demon. René realizes that he must embrace one truth, that he cannot doubt his own existence. Since he can think and question his own …show more content…
He believes that our senses mislead us, thus it is our body misleading us. This may be perceived as a valid remark, but in actuality our senses are dictated and controlled by our minds, not our bodies. Our mind is actually much less of a certain aspect of human function than our bodies. Our mind has the unique ability to misread situations. For example, our mind can irrationally scared of the dark even when it knows it is safe. This is not the body conducting this rationale, it is the workings of our brains. Anxiety, fear, depression are all negative aspects human functioning caused by our minds. Yes the mind does numerous things right and is actually a fascinating attribute to the organisms that possess one, but when functioning properly, the body performs at a much higher more reliable
René Descartes, a 17th century French philosopher, has been referred to as the father of modern philosophy. Descartes works and writings on philosophy have transformed and altered the current landscape of philosophy as we know it. One of his more notable writings, Meditation I of the Things of Which We May Doubt, is still subjected to debate hundreds of years after René death. One of the major claims of this writing is that the mind is more knowable and certain than the body. This however is false. In terms of a normal human body, it is always more knowable and certain than the mind, which has the ability to mislead individuals. Throughout Meditation I of the Things of Which We May Doubt, Descartes cites many examples …show more content…
With that being said he then critiques the senses by stating “I observed, however, that these sometimes misled us: and it is the part of prudence not to place absolute confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived.”(Descartes 1) By challenging the validity of the senses he is also challenging the essence of the body since the senses are the primary function of any human. More rationale he used to discredit his senses are that he could be dreaming and this could be more of an illusion like environment. He continues by stating he could be being misled by God or even an evil demon. René realizes that he must embrace one truth, that he cannot doubt his own existence. Since he can think and question his own …show more content…
He believes that our senses mislead us, thus it is our body misleading us. This may be perceived as a valid remark, but in actuality our senses are dictated and controlled by our minds, not our bodies. Our mind is actually much less of a certain aspect of human function than our bodies. Our mind has the unique ability to misread situations. For example, our mind can irrationally scared of the dark even when it knows it is safe. This is not the body conducting this rationale, it is the workings of our brains. Anxiety, fear, depression are all negative aspects human functioning caused by our minds. Yes the mind does numerous things right and is actually a fascinating attribute to the organisms that possess one, but when functioning properly, the body performs at a much higher more reliable