The Cartesian Cogito By Rene ́ Descartes - 1513 Words

The Cartesian Cogito In â€Å"Meditation Two† of Meditations, Objections, and Replies, ReneÃŒ  Descartes argues that we cannot doubt our own existence. Descartes’s Cogito argument is actually stimulated by the â€Å"numerous† â€Å"false opinions† (9) in â€Å"Meditation One†, which he believed true in his youth but now doubts and attempts to attack through his own writing. Descartes’s doubts involve three stages. The first doubt concerns sense illusion. In other words, Descartes formerly maintained that we obtained truth â€Å"either from the senses or through the senses† (10). He declares that senses can sometimes deceive us, but in a sense, some of them cannot be doubted. Such an argument can be proved by his sense of his own body. Then, in order to prove such†¦show more content†¦He concludes in the beginning passages of â€Å"Meditation Two† that such a â€Å"pronouncement ‘I am, I exist’ is necessarily true every time [he] utter[s] it or conceive[s] it in [his] mind† (13). Based on the conclusion that â€Å"I am something† or â€Å"I am; I exist – that is certain† (15), Descartes explores his Cogito argument in â€Å"Meditation Two†. First of all, another question immediately follows such a conclusion: if such something – â€Å"I† – necessarily exists, what it is? Or what is such an â€Å"I†? Descartes first shows the evolution of his own meditations about this question. He once divided â€Å"I† into â€Å"the body† and â€Å"the soul†, the latter of which refers to â€Å"a rarefied I-know-not-what†, â€Å"the power of self-motion, [†¦] of sensing or of thinking†, or â€Å"some supremely powerful and [†¦] malicious deceiver† (14). Nevertheless, he not only shows his current â€Å"discovery†: â€Å"thought exists; it alone cannot be separated from me†; but also claims: â€Å"I am a true thing and am truly existing†, â€Å"I a m [†¦] a thinking thing; that is, a mind, or intellect, or understanding, or reason† (15). Then, by taking his perception of a piece of wax as an example, Descartes aims to prove his Cogito argument: â€Å"I am† â€Å"[a] thing that thinks. [†¦] A thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, and that also imagines and senses† (15). In comparing the differences of his perceptions of the same piece of wax at room temperature and being heated – â€Å"clos[ing] to the fire†, Descartes observes two differentShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of The Mind Body Dualism1232 Words   |  5 PagesRenà © Descartes was a French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher of the 16th Century, who, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, â€Å"was one of the first to abandon scholastic Aristotelianism and created the first version of the modern mind-body dualism or emotion† (Encyclopedia Britannica). Born on March 31, 1596, he was dubbed as the Father of Modern Philosophy. 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