ipl-logo

Descartes 'Meditations On The First Philosophy'

732 Words3 Pages

a) the question that drives the paper:
Does Descartes believe in free will? What does Descartes human freedom amounts to?

b) the position that the paper will take on the question:
Descartes does not believe in actual free will but merely the illusion he creates with the concept of free will.
c) how the paper will argue that position:
Through the several “Meditations on the First Philosophy” by Renè Descartes: Meditations: 1, 3, and 4
2. Background information (this could also be covered in the introduction)
a) defining terms:
• Free will: for a person do do what they want without another holding authority over them or having a pre-destined fate.
b) parameters:
Descartes believes that a person has free will in the sense that we are able to …show more content…

If a person were to have free will, he or she would not have a pre-determined fate. Thus, this means that Descartes does not believe in actual free will but rather an illusion of it.
3. First reason:
The first meditation argues that there could be an ‘evil demon’ (not God) who has been manipulation our senses to believe false truths.
a) your reason
This idea contradicts the idea of free will because this belief shows that there are external forces that are convincing a person to do or believe something, thus, taking away his or her free will.
c) anticipated objections:
It can be argued that because senses are manipulated, free will is still what determines a person’s fate in that situation as they are being manipulated. In a sense, that person has the option to be manipulated or not.
d) refutation of objections:
Although a person may think that an altered situation still means that they have the opportunity of free will, the evil genius arguments goes against that idea. In a sense, their actions and thoughts are both influenced by this evil genius, and in some way, pre-determined, as well.
4. Second …show more content…

c) anticipated objections
One can argue that there is no evidence that God deceives us.
d) refutation of objections
While there is no evidence if we are being deceived by God, that does not mean that it is not true. Like the ‘evil demon,’ our logic and actions can all be influenced by God. Thus, we are not exactly exercising our free will.
5. Third reason:
Descartes comes to a realization that God is not deceiving and we have a free will to choose our own path within the Fourth Meditation.
a) your reason it is clear that Descartes knows God has a high uphold on the world and on the people. This could diminish the idea of free will itself, by contradicting with Descartes beliefs.
c) anticipated objections
While there may be an idea that God does not influence our senses through deception. In addition, if God is all knowing, then that means God knows our fate.
d) refutation of objections
Even if God is not deceiving, that may not necessarily mean our senses are still not altered. They may be altered by God, just not through deception. Also, God may have a pre-determined destiny for each person. Thus, regardless of any ‘free will’ they have, any choice will end in the pre-destined

Show More
Related
1530 Words | 7 Pages

However, the question why did God give them free will? Is something I do not disagree with. The reason that God is giving us free will is to test our faith. To see how much we can bare and handle. To see who have more control over themselves.

Read More
3797 Words | 16 Pages

In religious teachings there is extensive evidence of free will being taken advantage of. This doesn’t change the fact that free will is still truly free. Individuals decide their words and actions, because no one else can. Even if the environment, nature, and others try to take away free will, it will ultimately prevail. PERSONAL

Read More
874 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the movies and novels evil was represented in many ways. The action of being evil was shown differently each time. Each character portrayed being evil stronger or weaker than others. For example, Stanley Kowalski was the most evil by his bluntness and way of not caring about others feelings. O’Brien was second evil by him being secretively.

Read More
1654 Words | 7 Pages

Notre Dame ID: 902008117 In René Descartes ' Mediations on First Philosophy, Descartes abandons all previous notions or things that he holds to be true and attempts to reason through his beliefs to find the things that he can truly know without a doubt. In his first two meditations Descartes comes to the conclusion that all that he can truly know is that he exists, and that he is a thinking being. In his third meditation, Descartes concludes that he came to know his existence, and the fact that he is a thinking being, from his clear and distinct perception of these two facts. Descartes then argues that if his clear and distinct perception would turn out to be false, then his clear and distinct perception that he was a thinking being would not have been enough to make him certain of it (Blanchette).

Read More
699 Words | 3 Pages

Descartes states with clarity that it does not seem possible for him to “to discover the [impenetrable] purposes of God” due to being in a state that does not reach God’s infinity (111). Being in a realm where nothingness does promote error, it is plausible that we have yet to acclaim knowledge or a true source that could help us understand God’s reasons behind our imperfect creation. Descartes narrows down the central concept to two faculties: the power of knowing (intellect) and the power of choice (free will). He understands that free will is the known infinite faculty, so our intellect is what determines our state of finity. Our knowledge is limited in comparison to God, and because of it, we are unable to give our full judgement to what God has committed because we do not understand its purpose in relation to its function in the world.

Read More
726 Words | 3 Pages

We know clear and distinct perceptions independently by God, and his existence provides us with a certainty we might not possess otherwise. However, another possible strategy would be to change Gods role in Descartes philosophy. Instead of seeing God as the validation of clear and distinct perceptions, rather see him as a safeguard against doubt. This strategy, however, is a problem since it re-constructs the Meditations – Philosophical work of Descartes –.This is because it would not be God, who is the ultimate foundation of knowledge, but the clear and distinct

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

In Meditation 3, the Meditator is creating arguments about the existence of god. This is where Descartes explains different reasons/premises to why god exists. Throughout Meditation 3, Descartes goes back and forth with his arguments arguing one thing then creating a counter argument to it at while still focusing on the main thing which is does god exist. For those wondering whether god does really exist stay tuned into what Descartes says. The premises from the meditation that claim god doesn’t exist are weak and invalid, and fail to give enough evidence to support the thought that god does not exists, which would conclude that God does exist.

Read More
303 Words | 2 Pages

Descartes starts The Meditations by regarding all knowledge as deception imposed by a deceptive God. He does this in an effort to rid himself of any possible falsehood, so that he can attain what he can rebuild his reality with only what is deemed to be certain. Eventually he disregards the notion of a deceptive God, and is able to regain with confidence many of his previous convictions. The first step he takes in his search for truth is to identify whether or not he exists. After some analysis he concludes that he must exist, because he is able to question his existence.

Read More
312 Words | 2 Pages

In the movie The Matrix you can clearly understand how the points that Descartes makes in his meditations stand out in the movie. The first point that Descartes makes is that he believes that he is living his life in a dream and that everything that he sees around him is not real. The second point Descartes makes is that he believes there is a higher power, which is God who makes him, understand his knowledge more clearly. The final point that Descartes makes is that there is an evil demon that deceives his thoughts because he believes that God would not do such a thing as deceiving him.

Read More
1467 Words | 6 Pages

Within his first argument he views god as a perfect being. In his eyes it is more perfect to exist than not too, hence why god exists. Descarte raises the question of god’s existence within the third meditation and follows up on the topic in more detail throughout the fifth meditation. His beliefs are solely based on the theory of innate ideas (ie. ideas found within oneself)

Read More
1279 Words | 6 Pages

In this paper, I will begin by stating the Problem of Evil. Following this I will include two objections to the argument and why I find the argument to not be convincing. The Problem of Evil is an argument concerning the existence of God and why God cannot exist because of the presence of evil in the world. The argument begins by saying that God is both all-powerful and wholly good, and that evil exists in the world. However, these statements contradict each other, so all three cannot be true.

Read More
2041 Words | 9 Pages

In order to be right about claiming that the senses do deceive, a person should have recognized that an error has actually occurred. So the person distinguished between being mistaken and being correct. (For example knowing that heat mirages on the roads are deceptions, one has successfully classed them as optical illusion). Thus one is able to see through the deception and thus avoid being deceived. Oddly, it must be concluded that in presenting examples of how the senses deceive, one is also presenting examples of how we are able to see through deceptions.

Read More
1520 Words | 7 Pages

One way that Descartes might explain the mind-body interaction is by appealing to God. Since God created the union of mind and body, God gave both the mind and the body the ability to interact with each other. In his Fourth Meditation, Descartes argued that there are some things that we cannot understand because our understanding is limited compared to God’s. Thus, Descartes can conclude that we cannot understand specifically how the mind and body interact with each other, since the specific details of mind-body interaction are beyond our understanding. However, this explanation fails to resolve the contradiction between (1) and (2).

Read More
1104 Words | 5 Pages

For example, a rock can exist all by itself. This indicates that Descartes proposed that God if he wanted could create a world of beings that could exist all by itself. Therefore what he means to say is that if the mind and body are really distinct, they could exist all by themselves without being dependant on each other. 

Although he has changed a bit in his stance from his books like Discourse and Meditations which has versions like the First, the Second, the Sixth and so on, he was still critiqued by two of his successors, Nicolas Malebranche and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Malebranche developed an internal critique of Descartes theory of the mind.

Read More
1275 Words | 6 Pages

The next step that Descartes uses in the second meditation is the existence of this Godly figure. He questions his own beliefs with that of the God, and argues that a mind should be capable of thinking for them to be of existence, “Is there not some God, or some other being by whatever name we call it, which puts these reflections into my mind? That is not necessary, for is it not possible that I am capable of producing them myself?” He then puts forward that for one to be deceived by this “evil demon” as he describes it, they have to exist to be deceived.

Read More

More about Descartes 'Meditations On The First Philosophy'

Related Topics

Open Document