Descartes
Demon Argument and
Cartesian Scepticism Descartes
begins his meditation in the realisation that
many of his thoughts and opinions
gained from his youth were false, or at least not necessarily true. Being a
true philosopher, he wishes to start over with a solid and impermeable
foundation, from which he can rebuild his reasonings. This process is an
enormous undertaking, and he figures that if he can find any reason to doubt a
belief or thought then he must reject it. The slightest or most miniscule doubt
in any belief and it must be rejected. This foundation must be indubitable if
he is to continue his philosophical reasonings. This process of calling into
question all that may be doubted is called
Cartesian Scepticism - a question of Epistemology (how can we know
what we know?).
He
goes to consider his beliefs about his senses – the objects with which he gains
all knowledge of the world. No person can know what an object looks like
without eyes, nor know what it smells like without nostrils, and so on.
Descartes considers the senses to be unreliable however, as they have deceived
him in the past. When he dreams, his dream landscape is filled with all manner
of sensory input. Sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells all may exist to
him while he sleeps, and yet none of the sensory organs are actually being
utilised. The only difference between the two states of consciousness in terms
of sensation is that, in the dreamscape, the sensations are produced without
using the sensory apparatus. If the mind can perceive sensory input both with
and without eyes and the like, then there is doubt as to the existence or
nature of the same objects.
If
then he gains all knowledge of the outsider world using his senses and they are
dubitable, the question of whether the world exists independently of the
senses. Thus the external world must be rejected as true.
Descartes then
moves on to the dubitability of his beliefs in God. However the existence of God may be doubted, as there
is no proof as to whether he exists – it is a matter of faith to him. Therefore
God must be rejected, at least for the purposes of his meditations.
At this point Descartes is still
uncertain as to who or what is producing his perceptions. He goes on to
speculate as to whether an evil demon is influencing him in some way.
This demon is similar to God in all
respects save one – its purpose is malicious and evil, as opposed to God’s
benevolence and goodness.
The demon may or may not have an actual
physical presence. It does not actually need to have a body – it only needs to
be able to interact with people.
What is important is that it wishes to
alter the perceptions of Descartes, and in its cleverness and power it is
capable of doing so. It can do to an awakened person as dreams can do to a
sleeping person. It can fool a person into believing falsehoods and untruths,
and any number of other illusions. The demon is comparable to a pair of
sunglasses – when used the world may look similar, but the focus and colour has
been changed. The demon however is capable of far more insidious and devious
alterations.
Because of this demon, Descartes has yet
another reason to doubt anything that can be sensed, and now also reason to
doubt whether he is creating his own thoughts or whether he himself exists.
By the start of his second meditation
Descartes is now anxious to find his foundation as at the end of the first
mediation he has be left baseless. He now takes on a new method of scepticism.
Instead of ignoring all that can be doubted, he considers all things to be
false and goes on to prove what is unquestionably true.
If God does exist then, and is putting
thoughts in Descartes head then it follows that Descartes must exist is some
form. He is aware of the thoughts, and while they may not have been created by
Descartes, God is putting them in his mind.If God does not exist however,
Descartes may be the author of his own thoughts and thus must again exist in
some form.
If he is capable of producing thoughts
then he must exist - I think, therefore I am.
Similarly the demon argument applies. The
demon may be in Descartes head, controlling and altering his thoughts, giving
him false sensations, but in this the demon has proven Descartes existence.
There can be no doubt whatsoever that if the evil genius is deceiving him, then
Descartes must necessarily exist. The last part of the quote is equally
important. While the demon is capable of creating and modifying his thoughts,
it is not capable of changing the something that is Descartes into nothing. If
he still thinks that he is something, then he cannot have that existence
destroyed or removed by the demon, lest the demon’s work be for nought.
Descartes I am deceived, therefore
I am and I think, therefore I am go together to
cohesively prove Descartes foundation. No matter how desperately the evil
genius tries to deceive him, his existence will continue. One indubitable fact
then is that Descartes exists, in some form.
In the end, the purpose of Descartes
demon was to find his one indubitable fact from which he could build his
foundation on, and he was successful in this endeavour. Descartes knows for
certain that he must exist, and from this he can continue to grow and develop
his philosophy.
Processing data, please wait ...