Meditations on First Philosophy
Meditations on First Philosophy (subtitled In whichexistenceGod andreal distinctionmindbody,demonstrated), written by René Descartes (1596 - 1650)first published1641, expands upon Descartes' philosophical system, which he first introducedhis Discourse on Method (1637).
The bookmade up6 meditations, during which Descartes discards all belief thatnot absolutely certain, then triesestablish what can be knownsure.
Thus,first meditation contains argumentsdoubtingphilosophical skepticism;most famouswhichthatmalign demon might be systematically deceiving you at all times (compare withmodern equivalent,brain-in-a-vat theory).
The second meditation contains Descartes' argument forcertaintyone's own existence, even if all elsein doubt:
- I have convinced myself that thereabsolutely nothing inworld, no sky, no earth, no minds, no bodies. Doesfollow that I too do not exist? No: if I convinced myselfsomething then I certainly existed. But there isdeceiversupreme powercunning whodeliberatelyconstantly deceiving me. In that case I too undoubtedly exist, if hedeceiving me ...proposition, I am, I exist,necessarily true whenever itput forward by me or conceivedmy mind.
The rest ofbook contains arguments that modern philosophers have found less convincing, such as ontological arguments forexistenceGod, andsupposed proof ofdualismmindmatter.
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