Essay Questions

Explain Descartes's process for discovering the truth in Meditations on First Philosophy.

In this relatively short philosophical, reflective work, Descartes attempts to discover the elements of existence that are indubitably real - a more difficult task than it might sound. He begins by deconstructing the world until nothing remains, proving that it isn't possible to prove that anything physical actually exists, including and especially one's own body. As senses can deceive (optical illusions, etc), it is impossible to fully trust them, so Descartes rules them out, along with many other elements.

When he has reduced the universe to nothing, he starts over, building a view of reality from the ground up. His starting point, the only logically possible starting point from his perspective, is the existence of his own mind, which he justifies by arguing that since he is thinking, he must have a mind, as he is self-aware, and his thoughts cannot exist in a void. From this starting point, he determines that God exists, and from there he extrapolates the rest of his metaphysics. He never fully trusts the senses, but he acknowledges their necessity for getting around in the physical world, as well as for providing a physical avatar for consciousness. All of this is conveyed in a thoughtful, meditative fashion, almost like Augustine's Confessions or Anselm's Proslogion.

Describe Descartes's theory of dualism as manifested in this work.

Descartes is a strict dualist; he believes that mind and flesh are not only entirely different types of substances, but are on entirely separate planes of existence. He sees the mind and the intellect as the purest form of personhood and the only foundation on which any kind of philosophical theory can be grounded. He follows Plato in believing that Heaven is a place for souls, while mortal, fallible, physical forms are a necessity for living on the earth. The dualism between these two types of substance is vital for understanding Descartes's work. This particular brand of dualism was even named after him: Cartesian dualism.

His preference for the intellectual realm rather than the physical is evident throughout Meditations on First Philosophy, especially in the introductory and conclusory chapters. Descartes doesn't trust the senses, and he doubts even the actual existence of the body in the First Meditation. He never doubts the existence of his mind, however, and he never gives up his belief that the mind is the true realm of the soul and the person, and the body is merely an integrated house for it. At the end of the work, however, he acknowledges that the body seems to be more connected with the mind than he might have anticipated, and that he must trust that God knows what He's doing and created man in just the right way.