One of Descartes’ most controversial proposals is that our whole entire life could be a very vivid dream because when people are actually dreaming, they often never realize it until they’re awake again. “I see plainly that there are never any sure signs by means of which being awake can be distinguished from being asleep” (Descartes 51), he suggests. With this motion, he questions the authenticity of studies such as astronomy, medicine, and physics, that rely on the analysis of composite things since all of our understandings of these could be false. However, studies like geometry and arithmetics are certain and indisputable because they deal with the simplest variables, which are independent to whether some objects materially exist or not.
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Furthermore, in order for Descartes’ theory to pull through, dreams must be able to contain a boundless volume of imagination in order to perfectly stimulate the experience of reality. In other words, the world in which we are awake in is a static and logical one. We perceive the persistence of physical objects even under close examination. For example, the height, weight or temperature of something will be the same whether or not I measure it in reality, but it would be almost impossible for me to construct a world out of my imagination where the physical objects possess these qualities, in relation to themselves and others, without me consciously thinking about it. Thirdly, the reason why we lack insight into our dreaming condition is not because our dreams and awake episodes have similar content, as Descartes implied, but because of the distinct characteristic that dreams possess. Dreams have a kaleidoscopic effect upon the dreamer which prevents them from having insight into their own state of consciousness. The environment and situation is always shifting so there is no opportunity for the dreamer to rationally reflect upon the current state of affairs, which would lead him to conclude that he is in fact dreaming. Descartes might contest against my theory by saying that our lives could be a realistic and dulled out version of these kaleidoscopic dreams, and this lack of awareness is an outcome from the identical …show more content…
The fact that we are able to think, leads us to conclude that we certainly exist. Even though I agree with his famous saying “I think, I exist” (Descartes 53), I still argue that we cannot be deceived about the concept of numbers and counting. It may in fact be true that my vision would fail to show me distinct numbers of something, but the concept of (X) amount of things cannot be changed in my mind by an outside force. Since “counting” is the action of thinking in a numerical form, then the numbers derived from this act would be incomprehensible unless the concept is recognized as existent. Other simple natures such as shapes, can be substituted for numbers, if we follow the same line of thought. Thus, these variables are ontologically dependent bodies because its results are certain whether or not these objects exist in
Furthermore, in order for Descartes’ theory to pull through, dreams must be able to contain a boundless volume of imagination in order to perfectly stimulate the experience of reality. In other words, the world in which we are awake in is a static and logical one. We perceive the persistence of physical objects even under close examination. For example, the height, weight or temperature of something will be the same whether or not I measure it in reality, but it would be almost impossible for me to construct a world out of my imagination where the physical objects possess these qualities, in relation to themselves and others, without me consciously thinking about it. Thirdly, the reason why we lack insight into our dreaming condition is not because our dreams and awake episodes have similar content, as Descartes implied, but because of the distinct characteristic that dreams possess. Dreams have a kaleidoscopic effect upon the dreamer which prevents them from having insight into their own state of consciousness. The environment and situation is always shifting so there is no opportunity for the dreamer to rationally reflect upon the current state of affairs, which would lead him to conclude that he is in fact dreaming. Descartes might contest against my theory by saying that our lives could be a realistic and dulled out version of these kaleidoscopic dreams, and this lack of awareness is an outcome from the identical …show more content…
The fact that we are able to think, leads us to conclude that we certainly exist. Even though I agree with his famous saying “I think, I exist” (Descartes 53), I still argue that we cannot be deceived about the concept of numbers and counting. It may in fact be true that my vision would fail to show me distinct numbers of something, but the concept of (X) amount of things cannot be changed in my mind by an outside force. Since “counting” is the action of thinking in a numerical form, then the numbers derived from this act would be incomprehensible unless the concept is recognized as existent. Other simple natures such as shapes, can be substituted for numbers, if we follow the same line of thought. Thus, these variables are ontologically dependent bodies because its results are certain whether or not these objects exist in