In the First Meditation: Reasons for Doubt
Reasons are provided for giving us the liberty not to believe everything especially material possessions. It is based on the fact of lacking an adequate foundation for the sciences other than the already existent ones. Despite the significance of the work not being visible at first sight, the benefits lie in freeing us from rigid opinions that provide an easy way of deviating us from our senses. In our discussion, we would examine the first meditation and its relevance.
The First Meditation: What can be Called into Doubt
The First Meditation, What can be called into doubt, begins by reflecting the numerous lies that the meditator has been accustomed to during his existence, and the knowledge that has formed the basis of the fabrication (Descartes, Elizabeth and George). The meditator has arrived at a decision of doing away with all the information he knows and begin from the foundation building up the knowledge using factual details. He is seated alone so that he can overcome his worries and begin a fresh with precaution. The meditator reasons that he is required to find concrete evidence to base his argument on not believing his current opinions, to prompt him to seek factual details. Rather than disapproving his every opinion, he argues that unearthing his present knowledge would anchor itself on establishing the validity of the foundations and basic principles that the information is based on.
The Role of the Senses in Knowledge
Everything the meditator has accepted has been learnt through his senses. He admits that the senses can sometimes be deceiving but as a whole, they are powerful. Additionally, he acknowledges that insane people are easily manipulated but he is different. Nonetheless, the meditator concedes that in most instances, he is convinced that he is dreaming and senses actual objects. Despite his present sensation being dream images, he accepts that they are drawn from experiences similar to paintings (Descartes, Elizabeth and George). When a painter comes up with an image, the idea largely relates to real life experiences, thus, the meditator accepts that he cannot doubt simple parts. While we can disapprove studies based on complex aspects such as medicine and astronomy, we cannot replicate a similar situation to attributes such as arithmetic and geometry.
Doubting Even the Minor Things
On further reflection, the meditator notes that even minor things can be doubted. One might contend that God is intrinsically good and would not lead people to false beliefs, but the reasoning appears to have numerous contradictions. What is more, if we believe the non-existence of God, the situation worsens, as our imperfect sense would not have been formed by a perfect being. The meditator acknowledges the difficulties he is experiencing in keeping the opinions out of his thoughts. He resolves to assume them to counterbalance his thinking approach and avoid excess skepticism.
Descartes' Meditation as a New Form of Thinking
Descartes saw his meditation as providing a new form of thinking about his ideology. Similar to Galileo, he sought to disapprove long-held prejudices integrated into Western culture by Aristotle. Aristotle significantly based his beliefs on senses reiterating that all knowledge originates from them. The meditator suggests that human knowledge that comes from the sense is meant to apply precisely to the Aristotelian philosophers that would read the text. The motive of the reading to begin analysis from a position where Aristotelian philosophers would comprehend, then deviate. Descartes vividly realizes the revolutionary impact of his ideas, therefore, is cautious to orthodox opinions to facilitate acceptance.
Questioning Beliefs and Skeptical Doubts
Reading the text as an effort to persuade supporters of the ideology from their long-held views facilitates diverse interpretations into the various stages of uncertainty. For instance, there is an argument as to whether the popular dream argument is intended to suggest the universal possibility of dreaming (Descartes, Elizabeth and George). It is challenging to realize which moments are dreams and those that are waking, or a widespread dream. If we interpreted Descartes manuscript as suggesting the universal possibility of dreaming, we can elucidate the distinction between the evil demon and dream argument. The latter means that we realize the predefined ideas are false and we cannot trust them. On the other hand, the dream argument suggests that senses are not completely reliable.
The Deviation from Aristotelian Reliance
The dream viewpoint questions the Aristotelian creed while the evil demon stance does away with it completely. The painter's analogy that relates to the dream viewpoint concludes that mathematics and other studies are more appropriate than astronomy. The situation is a crucial step in the deviation from Aristotelian reliance and embracing Cartesian rationalism. The first meditation reading can be considered as presenting skeptical doubts as a subject of study in its own. Descartes raised a question on the realism of claiming to know with certainty anything about the universe and its surrounding. Skepticism dissects the Western philosophy beliefs and attempts to provide a foundation for the comprehension of the universe.
A Methodological Approach to Doubt
With reference to that, the reading's doubt is methodological and rational with an objective of trying to overcome skepticism. That is, the meditator does not doubt everything randomly but provides factual evidence at each stage. An example, he rejects the possibility of him being insane since it would undermine the rationality that inspires his uncertainty. Descartes is trying to integrate his suspicion with a rational framework, therefore, needs to maintain a clear outline. The general form of the argument is that the meditator is dreaming which then leads to him questioning his beliefs.
Avoiding Beliefs without Supporting Facts
In conclusion, Descartes' objective is to delay judgment on any belief that appears to be doubtful. All the beliefs about the physical world that he had are unconvinced. Therefore, he decides to forget them and start all over. The situation depicts the significance of avoiding falling into certain beliefs without any supporting facts.
Work Cited
Descartes, René, Elizabeth Sanderson Haldane, and George Robert Thomson Ross. Meditations on first philosophy. London: Routledge, 1993.
