Meditation 2. The Cogito
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Like a drowning man – head
sinks below water and yet
cannot put feet on river bed.
Panic!
Needs an Archimedean Point –
a sure foundation.
The evil demon controls my
outer and inner perceptions.
But…”I think therefore I
am”…”Cogito ergo sum”….The
Cogito.
Outer world may be illusion but
self consciousness is certain.
Archimedean point - rock solid
foundation – now he can build
up.
Meditation 2. A Thinking Thing
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“I” exist for certain, but what is this “I”?
Rejects common definition – “rational
animal” for example – too many other
questions/definitions involved!
Clearly recognises inner and outer –
mind and body awareness, sensation.
But all outer experience is still in the
control of the evil demon.
What can I say I am most safely – a
“thinking thing” – a mind – this is a first
step in establishing Rationalism.
Mental activity of the kind not
dependent on senses is foundational.
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I am….”a thing
that doubts,
perceives,
affirms, denies,
wills, does not
will, that
imagines…that
feels.”
2nd Meditation.
Meditation 2. The Wax. (Not Syllabus)
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Descartes admits that despite this
the external world – which may be
illusion – seems, by force of habit,
easier to know.
But take a piece of wax how does it
appear to each of the senses?
Heat the wax before a fire.
The wax is now utterly different to
each of the senses – unrecognisable
Descartes concludes it is the mind
alone that can grasp that it is still
wax – so the truth is not based on
sense experience but on mind.
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“I must therefore agree
that I could not even
conceive by means of
the imagination what
the wax is, and that it is
my understanding
alone which conceives
it”
2nd Meditation
Meditation 2. Homework.
Purpose:- Grasp of Flow of Argument .
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Resources:- class summary
slides and BGDM, 18 – 24.
Either:
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Create a detailed mind map
which represents the content
of the 2nd Meditation. (A3)
Repeat as per homework
exercise for 1st Meditation but
using a different genre.