Rene Descartes was a metaphysics philosopher. He thought about the ways that we can know what is real and what is not real. In order for him to figure out what is real and not real he thinks that it is first necessary to remove any kind of doubt that the might have about: “Descartes believed in basically clearing everything off the table…putting back one by one the things that were certain…” (Biography.com). The way that Descartes cleared away all this doubt is called radical doubt. Descartes radical doubt is how he strips away everything and is able to arrive at his famous cogito ergo sum.
Descartes starts off his Meditations trying to discover what things that he knows for certain. These things cannot be based on other things he knows. So, he comes to doubt his senses as being a good way of determining reality. He believes his senses have fooled him many times in the past. For instance, when he looks at the fire that he sits next to, he is certain that he cannot be wrong about this belief. However, then he considers whether or not his senses have ever deceived him and he discovers that the senses deceive him when he is sleeping. He states that there have been many times when he has experienced these sensations in a dream. It is therefore quite possible that he is dreaming since he has experienced similar realistic sensations while dreaming. Even the sensations of his hands are possibly a dream sensation. Therefore, Descartes concludes that it is a true possibility that he is dreaming and that he does not have any body or extensions at all.
He does think that there are truths that perhaps the dreaming argument could not affect. He presents the subject of math as an exception to the dreaming argument. Math does not change when he is dreaming, and math is not something that needs to exist in order for it to be true. Descartes thinks that principles, like those in math, are indubitable. If the senses are unreliable, then what can Descartes trust? He cannot trust any knowledge that has a connection to other truths.
Math could be a solution to his problem, because he thinks that: “Whether I am awake or asleep, two plus three makes five, and a square has only four sides.” (Descartes). However, Descartes tries to find a way to undermine the absolute truths of math as well. He does not want to believe in any truths that could be false, and he has discovered that there is nothing that he believes in that does not rely on something else.
Descartes examines the idea of an all-powerful and all-good God. He believes that an all-good God would not allow him to be deceived, however, he has been deceived about sensory information. If God allows him to be deceived, and he is deceived, then God cannot be all good: Descartes’ evil demon is the answer. It cannot be the scenario that God deceives him, because God is good, and good is not deception. In order for him to be deceived, there must be an entity who deceives.
Descartes presents his demon. He puts forth that a demon is capable of deceiving him from knowing what is true or what is real. A demon would deceive because that is the demon’s nature, whereas God could not deceive because it is not in God’s nature. This demon has forced Descartes to consider that everything, even consistent truths such as math, are a deceptive manipulation of the demon’s. Descartes says that he will have to do everything in his mental power to resist falling into the traps that the demon has set. Descartes says that this will be a difficult thing to accomplish because of the habits of trusting something that he knows.
The main obstacle to getting to any kind of knowledge and certainty is removing the doubt that goes with it. In order to be able to successfully remove doubt, Descartes cannot rely on any truths that he “thinks” he knows. He admits that a problem with this is philosophical laziness. He admits that it is more difficult to examine his beliefs rather than accept them. This is why he believes that an evil demon could successfully deceive people about what is true; most beliefs are not well-examined. His meditations are his opportunity to examine his own belief-system in order to discover a solid foundation.
An epiphany hits Descartes and he realizes that no matter what the demon deceives him with, or does to knowledge, that there is one surviving certainty. Descartes realizes that there is a “him” who is deceived. The demon cannot deceive him if he does not exist. Therefore, because Descartes is deceived, he knows he exists. At first, his conclusion is I am deceived, therefore I am; however, he then widens this conclusion to complete I think, therefore, I am, because the demon cannot deceive him about whether he is thinking or not.
Descartes’ radical doubt is able to remove the foundation for all of his knowledge, but he concludes that it does not matter if he is being deceived by a demon, or if he is dreaming. In either case, there is a Descartes who is deceived, or a Descartes who dreams. Therefore, he can safely conclude that he exists, despite the possibility of an evil demon, or whether he is dreaming.
- Biography.com Editors. Rene Descartes. Biography.com, 2016. 24 May 2016.
- Descartes, Rene. Meditations On First Philosophy…, (1639). www.marxists.org, 2016. Web 24 May 2016.
