Descartes has skeptical views that make me think if we can never be certain, how can we argue we know anything? Descartes tried to rebuild a foundation of truth from nothing, but it seems to me the only certain truth he found was that there is no certainty. He even questions if he has no senses or body, does he even actually exist? But if he is able to think and be deceived by evil then he must exist, at least in some way. He never doubts that he is thinking, but seems to doubt everything else. I find it strange that you can doubt everything in the world. The sun rises every morning. I don’t doubt that. Time is always passing. I don’t doubt that either. Some things are forever constant.
Descartes says, “But what then am I? A thinking thing. And what is that? Something that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, and also sense and has mental images.” If Descartes does not doubt that he is thinking, did he doubt that other people were thinking as well? Not everyone thinks the same way. Some people may be more intellectual while others may think more creatively and so on. I wonder if Descartes would doubt their existents if their thinking was more based on senses like perception of the outside world. If Descartes is a “thing that thinks”, then I guess everyone else would fall into that same category.
Also, Descartes doesn’t doubt that he is set off track by an evil genius, but does he believe that there is a God that sets us on track and creates our thoughts? Because if he does not even have enough faith to believe that things in the world exist, how can he have enough faith to believe in a higher power, something that has even less amount of proof? If our mind is disconnected from the world, could it possibly be connected to something else? Something more real or powerful?
I think Descartes was too smart for his own good. Or maybe crazy.
Daniel Estrada | 08-Feb-07 at 3:16 pm | Permalink
I don’t think you are being very charitable to Descartes’ arguments.
Sure, you don’t doubt that the Sun rises in the morning. Neither does Descartes, on most days. But normally, you don’t care much if you are absolutely certain about your beliefs. Because Descartes is worried about certainty, then he has to hold his beliefs to a higher standard.
But it should be noted that things like the Sun rising are NOT forever constant. There was a time before the Sun came into existence, and there will be a time when the Sun no longer exists.
Similarly, there was a time when you did not exist, and there will come a time when you no longer exist. But Descartes’ point is that, when I am thinking, I am certain that I exist, and there is no possible way for me to doubt this fact. Do you disagree? How can you be wrong that you exist?
You are absolutely right, that from this bit of certainty, it does not follow that anyone else has a mind. I can only confirm my own existence. But why isn’t that right? How do I know that you are actually a thinking being, and not just an elaborate robot, or an agent in the Matrix? I don’t have any access to your thoughts, so it is open to doubt. Do you disagree?