Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Analysis Of Meditation Six By Descartes - 982 Words

The passage selected from â€Å"Meditation Six† contains Descartes’ final conclusion in the Meditations on First Philosophy. The central conclusion in this passage pertains back to his previous dream argument. He concludes that his doubts that he discussed in the previous â€Å"Meditations† were exaggerated and should be rejected. His conclusion states that he was too harshly doubting his memory and his senses for determining whether he was awake or dreaming. But he now realizes by relying on his memory and a combination of his senses he is able to better determine whether or not he is awake. Descartes sets up his argument with three premises. The first premise states that there is a considerable difference between the sensations perceived when†¦show more content†¦Throughout his argument, Descartes utilizes multiple premise and conclusion indicator words. The first example of a premise-indicator-word is in first and second premise with the use of for. à ¢â‚¬Å"For I now notice...† and â€Å"For surely, if, while I am awake†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The use of for in the first example indicates that the first reason is being presented. The second use of the word for, connects the second premise to the first by providing a continuation of a deeper explanation and an example. Descartes utilizes an example of conclusion-indicator-words in the final sentence of the selected passage with the use of â€Å"I am clearly certain.† The use of these indicator word allows us to separate the premises from what Descartes if really trying to say, that the perceptions he experiences, he can determine that he is awake not dreaming. However, a problem with Descartes’ argument is he relies too heavily on the senses. Descartes previously argued the senses can easily be deceived. He argued that dreams cannot be easily distinguished from being awake because the two experiences we have are very similar. While the senses can help to determine if you are currently dreaming or awake, your senses can be deceived to make you think you are awake when you are not. The only sure way you can know you are dreaming is when you wake up, but you may also â€Å"wake up† while still in a dream. Another issueShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Descartes s The Six Meditations 1272 Words   |  6 PagesThrough the six Meditations, Descartes comes to the conclusion that memories and dreams are deceptive and are not to be trusted. He discusses the existence of material objects, God, and himself. God exists and allows deception and Descartes’ ability to recognize that everything is false proves that he exists as well. He e xplains the difference between imagination and intellect, as well as the idea that the senses are deceptive and that knowledge comes from the mind and reason. 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