Coursework.Info - Inspiration in an Instant

On the left is an image preview of every page of this document, and below are the first 150 words with formatting removed:

Descartes From the Second Meditation, Descartes knows that the mind, as well as the body, is known, neither by means of the senses nor the imagination but rather by the understanding, an inspection of the mind and its contents. In the Third Meditation, Descartes reviews the contents of his mind, namely, ideas, which are modes of thought, which exist, only in a thinking mind. Descartes reminds himself that he is certain that he is a thing that thinks, but asks whence comes this certainty. It lies, he argues, in the clear and distinct perception of what he affirms. Therefore, as a general principle (Descartes' rule of evidence), whatever is clearly and distinctly perceived must be true, as long as God exists and is not a deceiver. However, although it seems that the cogito (thinking) and 2+3=5 are true insofar as they are both clearly and distinctly perceived, if there is an...

Get instant access

• Instant, unlimited access to our documents in full
• Swap your work for free access, or pay £4.99
• To see the full version of this document and 150,044 others