Descartes Meditations And The Separation Of Mind And Body

Descartes’ Meditations take us through what can be called into doubt and what he concludes is absolutely certain. Descartes argues that the mind and body are two distinct things, but he acknowledges that they are somehow connected. Although, Scholars have noted Descartes’ argument of the separation of mind and body, they have missed the importance of how he justifies the connection between the two, because God willed it so. At the start of his meditations Descartes is sifting through his prior assumptions of what he knows and he makes his claim â€Å"I am, I exist†. It is absolutely certain that â€Å"I am, I exist† is true and cannot be called into doubt because the argument presented is if I will it or understand it, it is true. I am going to†¦show more content†¦The body may still exist, but he wouldn’t be aware of it. Descartes observes a piece of wax to try and discern what â€Å"I† means as well as what a body is. I dint quite understand the experiment until I read: â€Å"Surely I am aware of my own self in a truer and more certain way than I am of the wax, and also in a much more distinct and evident way. What leads me to think that the wax exists—namely, that I see it—leads much more obviously to the conclusion that I exist† (Descartes 7-8). I took from this that because Descartes senses the wax that must mean he exists because if he was nothing how could he possibly think he sees the wax. He endorses his claim by stating: â€Å"I now know that even bodies are perceived not by the senses or by imagination but by the intellect alone, not through their being touched or seen but through their being understood† (Descartes 8). I interpreted this claim as I can perceive my body not by pinching my arm or conjuring the image of it in my head, but by acknowledging its extension of my mind. Descartes continues to explore the concept of the body as being an extension, though it is uniqu e and distinct from the immaterial. Descartes spends the majority of the meditations proving that the mind and body are two distinct and separate things. The Third Meditation examines the difference between imagination and thought/understanding. Descartes uses anShow MoreRelatedDescartes: A Paradigm Shift in Philosophical Thinking Essay1574 Words   |  7 Pages Descartes, often referred to as the â€Å"father of modern philosophy,† solidified his foundational role in abstract thinking with his work â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy.† This piece sought to prove the existence of God, as well as provide a criticism of our epistemic standards and values. 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