Descartes Meditation Argument

In the first meditation, Descartes introduces his usage of the first person, he uses this as a rhetorical device so that the reader can identify with what he is claiming. The meditator comes to realize that he believes many things that are potentially false. He states that through a method of doubt he can rid himself of the false beliefs and build a new foundation based on certainty. If he has any uncertainty about a belief, then he will go after the foundation, instead of a superficial layer. He uses this method throughout the meditations, and uses this process to attack the foundation of the senses with what is known as the dream argument. The argument concludes that we cannot trust the senses because we cannot distinguish between being awake and sleeping. The first premise states, that if we want to trust the senses, then we must be able to distinguish being awake from dreaming. The second premise states we cannot distinguish being …show more content…
Some think that the mind and body are already separate but Descartes instead just states that it is a possibility. The first argument for dualism is known as the conceivability argument. Descartes asserts that anything that can be clearly and distinctly perceived is possible and can exist in the real world. He claims that he is a thinking thing and can exist without a corporeal body. Next he states that anything that he can conceive is a possibility. If it is possible for the intellect to exist without the body, then the body and intellect are not the same object, he concludes that he is a thinking thing and is not the same as his corporeal body. Descartes has a clear and distinct perception that his intellect exists, and he also has a clear and distinct perception that a substance that is extended exists (body). So now that he has determined that it is possible for the mind and body to be separate, how does the mind move the