Rene Descartes Meditations On First Philosophy
Meditations on First Philosophy is a very influential book, written by Rene Descartes. Many philosophers look to this book for inspiration and for answers to many of life’s questions. One of these philosophers would be David Hume. Hume often did not share the same thoughts and beliefs as Descartes but uses his ideas on the origin of thought to further explain his own. The Meditations are written in order to answer one simple question, “what can we know for certain?” While this might seem like a very simple question to answer, Descartes takes a different approach by doubting everything he could possibly know in order to see what remains as the truth. Descartes thought that in order to discover things that are true and would remain for years to come, he would have to rule out everything that could be proved wrong. He believed that true knowledge can only be rational, in other words, you cannot have true knowledge from your senses (Meditations, pg. 2). David Hume did not share these same beliefs and felt that Descartes philosophy was much too metaphysical. David Hume
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believed that senses are how we gain most of our knowledge, along with the concept of cause and effect (First Inquiry, pg. 11). This essay will be discussing the central theme in Meditation Two, followed by David Hume’s opinion on the wax example that Descartes uses in order to explain how we recognize the objects we perceive.
In the second section of Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditation two, Descartes introduces an example which will be the main focus of this essay.
He begins by introducing a piece of wax from a honeycomb which he explains is golden in colour, is hard and smells like honey. Everyone would recognize this as a piece of wax, but put it by a fire and it begins to change into something unrecognizable from its original state. It has now become soft and no longer smells the same, yet we are still able to recognize it as the same piece of wax. Descartes suggests that there is some sort of property or connection beyond the senses that lets us be aware that this is the same piece of wax. Descartes says that intellect is what makes those connections, not physical observations. Since the senses often mislead us, intellectual properties beyond the object are what can give us rational knowledge (Meditations, pg.
11).
The overall theme in Meditation two, revolves around the idea that “bodies” are recognized by something beyond senses or imagination. In Descartes case, “bodies” are recognized “by intellect alone” because we cannot trust out senses (Meditations, pg. 5). Meditation two is also a direct continuation of the doubting process in meditation one. Through rational thought, Descartes discovers that the “I” exists and that he is a thing that thinks, as well as “a thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wants, refuses and also imagines and senses” (Meditations, pg. 5). Another central theme of Meditation two is the distinction between primary and secondary qualities. Descartes makes a point of saying that primary qualities cannot be trusted as true knowledge because they are perceived by the senses, whereas secondary qualities are perceived rationally (Meditations, pg. 11). Primary qualities would include things like colour, taste and smell; whereas secondary qualities would be any properties that would be measured and cannot be thoroughly perceived by the senses alone. Descartes makes many claims in Meditation two which both rule out sense perception as a legitimate source of knowledge, and introduce the intellect which allows us to gain knowledge rationally.
Hume disagrees with many of Descartes's claims. Hume rejects the concept of intellect as an underlying substance, and refuses that objects even contain any sort of hidden substance (First Inquiry, pg. 81). Hume also makes a point of suggesting that the mind, rather than having an active role in knowledge, uses its abilities to organize and translate what is perceived through the senses (First Inquiry, pg. 81). In the case of the wax example, Hume would see the wax melt and say that the piece A (the solid wax) is not in fact the same object as piece B (the hot and melted wax). This is because there is no “act of intellection” that exists within the object. Hume believes that everything we see follows a cause and effect pattern where everything is changing and no single thing can remain identical through time (First Inquiry, pg. 30). To Descartes, a broken table would be the same object as the same table before it was broken, or after it was fixed.
Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy provides a lot of insight on the big questions in philosophy. Descartes speaks from the point of view of a skeptic as he doubts everything he has ever come to know in order to discover what can be undoubtable. Descartes discoveries have led to many developments in the fields of science and math. While Descartes views on skepticism and dualism are well known and highly respected, David Hume has radically different views. Descartes believes that there are properties beyond senses that are the cause of us recognizing objects even when they appear to be different, where Hume says these objects don’t appear to be different, they are different in all aspects. Descartes believes intellect and rational thought are how we recognize “bodies”, Hume suggests that our brain simply translates the images of what we sense into something we can understand.
believed that senses are how we gain most of our knowledge, along with the concept of cause and effect (First Inquiry, pg. 11). This essay will be discussing the central theme in Meditation Two, followed by David Hume’s opinion on the wax example that Descartes uses in order to explain how we recognize the objects we perceive.
In the second section of Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditation two, Descartes introduces an example which will be the main focus of this essay.
He begins by introducing a piece of wax from a honeycomb which he explains is golden in colour, is hard and smells like honey. Everyone would recognize this as a piece of wax, but put it by a fire and it begins to change into something unrecognizable from its original state. It has now become soft and no longer smells the same, yet we are still able to recognize it as the same piece of wax. Descartes suggests that there is some sort of property or connection beyond the senses that lets us be aware that this is the same piece of wax. Descartes says that intellect is what makes those connections, not physical observations. Since the senses often mislead us, intellectual properties beyond the object are what can give us rational knowledge (Meditations, pg.
11).
The overall theme in Meditation two, revolves around the idea that “bodies” are recognized by something beyond senses or imagination. In Descartes case, “bodies” are recognized “by intellect alone” because we cannot trust out senses (Meditations, pg. 5). Meditation two is also a direct continuation of the doubting process in meditation one. Through rational thought, Descartes discovers that the “I” exists and that he is a thing that thinks, as well as “a thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wants, refuses and also imagines and senses” (Meditations, pg. 5). Another central theme of Meditation two is the distinction between primary and secondary qualities. Descartes makes a point of saying that primary qualities cannot be trusted as true knowledge because they are perceived by the senses, whereas secondary qualities are perceived rationally (Meditations, pg. 11). Primary qualities would include things like colour, taste and smell; whereas secondary qualities would be any properties that would be measured and cannot be thoroughly perceived by the senses alone. Descartes makes many claims in Meditation two which both rule out sense perception as a legitimate source of knowledge, and introduce the intellect which allows us to gain knowledge rationally.
Hume disagrees with many of Descartes's claims. Hume rejects the concept of intellect as an underlying substance, and refuses that objects even contain any sort of hidden substance (First Inquiry, pg. 81). Hume also makes a point of suggesting that the mind, rather than having an active role in knowledge, uses its abilities to organize and translate what is perceived through the senses (First Inquiry, pg. 81). In the case of the wax example, Hume would see the wax melt and say that the piece A (the solid wax) is not in fact the same object as piece B (the hot and melted wax). This is because there is no “act of intellection” that exists within the object. Hume believes that everything we see follows a cause and effect pattern where everything is changing and no single thing can remain identical through time (First Inquiry, pg. 30). To Descartes, a broken table would be the same object as the same table before it was broken, or after it was fixed.
Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy provides a lot of insight on the big questions in philosophy. Descartes speaks from the point of view of a skeptic as he doubts everything he has ever come to know in order to discover what can be undoubtable. Descartes discoveries have led to many developments in the fields of science and math. While Descartes views on skepticism and dualism are well known and highly respected, David Hume has radically different views. Descartes believes that there are properties beyond senses that are the cause of us recognizing objects even when they appear to be different, where Hume says these objects don’t appear to be different, they are different in all aspects. Descartes believes intellect and rational thought are how we recognize “bodies”, Hume suggests that our brain simply translates the images of what we sense into something we can understand.