According to Descartes the first thing we can be certain of is… the evidence of
ID: 3013635 • Letter: A
Question
According to Descartes the first thing we can be certain of is…
the evidence of our senses as revealing an external world that is present to us.
the necessity of the forms as those concepts that provide us with understanding the world.
one's own personal existence as a thinking thing.
the certainty of science and mathematics as a method for understanding the world and how it truly operates.
the existence of God as an all powerful thing.
A.the evidence of our senses as revealing an external world that is present to us.
B.the necessity of the forms as those concepts that provide us with understanding the world.
C.one's own personal existence as a thinking thing.
D.the certainty of science and mathematics as a method for understanding the world and how it truly operates.
E.the existence of God as an all powerful thing.
Explanation / Answer
option A is right.
the evidence of our senses as revealing an external world that is present to us
The basic strategy of Descartes's method of doubt is to defeat skepticism on its own ground. Begin by doubting the truth of everything—not only the evidence of the senses and the more extravagant cultural presuppositions, but even the fundamental process of reasoning itself. If any particular truth about the world can survive this extreme skeptical challenge, then it must be truly indubitable and therefore a perfectly certain foundation for knowledge. The First Meditation, then, is an extended exercise in learning to doubt everything that I believe, considered at three distinct levels:
Perceptual Illusion
First, Descartes noted that the testimony of the senses with respect to any particular judgment about the external world may turn out to be mistaken. (Med. I) Things are not always just as they seem at first glance (or at first hearing, etc.) to be. But then, Descartes argues, it is prudent never wholly to trust in the truth of what we perceive. In ordinary life, of course, we adjust for mistaken perceptions by reference to correct perceptions. But since we cannot be sure at first which cases are veridical and which are not, it is possible (if not always feasible) to doubt any particular bit of apparent sensory knowledge.
I Am a Thinking Thing
An initial consequence may be drawn directly from the intuitive certainty of the cogito itself. If I know that I am, Descartes argued, I must also know what I am; an understanding of my true nature must be contained implicitly in the content of my awareness.
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