Meditations on First Philosophy.

Descartes' place in the history of philosophy is solid because he was the first rationalist thinker to reject the ideas of earlier philosophers in order to start over from the basic building block of his philosophy---"I think, therefore I exist." Earlier philosophers such as Aristotle had postulated the "truth" at the beginning of their works, then examined that "truth" in depth, assuming that their original postulation had been correct. Descartes reversed this process, beginning with the acceptance of himself as a thinking being. From that point, he reveals to himself and the reader the truth as he understands it, including God and a dualistic reality. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate his process and his findings, to provide an extended "discussion of the philosophical underpinnings for his vision of a unified and certain body of human knowledge" (viii).

In the First Meditation, Descartes abandons everything that he had previously thought or read about reality. Instead, he aims to accept nothing but that which he is absolutely certain. He says everything he previously accepted came from the senses, which can be deceived. He considers whether he is dreaming when he thinks himself awake, and concludes that dreams and reality are distinct in terms of clarity. Beyond the fact that he is awake when he believes himself to be awake, he accepts nothing to start with. For the sake of seeking

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s a perfect force could not be deceiving him to think thus. In the Fourth Meditation, Descartes writes that whereas God-directed thoughts must be free of error, thoughts which are directed by his own will can be full or error. He is himself "some kind of middle ground between God and nothing" (35). Of those things---such as evil or error of thought---which he does not fully understand, Descartes writes that as a finite being he cannot be expected to understand all of the things that God has allowed to exist. Also, in his imperfect understanding, he admits that what seems imperfect to him may be perfect in God's overall scheme. He also allows for the play of free will in his own life, which could introduce evil and imperfection. He can arrive at the truth only when such truth is obvious to him, and should "abstain from making judgments" when uncertain. In the Fifth Meditation, Descartes says that certain truths can be arrived at with respect to the corporeal or material realm. He argues that there the truths of mathematics and science are truths which depend on the implanting by God of scientific realities. Again, this distinction flows from his perception of a perfect God who does exist: "Once I perceived that there is a God .
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Approximate Word count = 2016
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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