The Meditations by Rene Descartes - 1003 Words

In Descartes’ Meditations, his goal to prove the existence of things could only be accomplished if he was logical, clear, and correct in his thoughts and writings. The most important issues he noted were the threat of being deceived and the potential of being incorrect in his judgments, both of which would lead him into error. Error exists as a problem that individuals encounter on a regular basis, and it also exists as a focal point in Descartes’ Meditations. Descartes defines error as â€Å"a privation or lack of some knowledge which somehow should be in me.† As a â€Å"thinking thing†, which he defines as â€Å"a thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is unwilling, and also imagines and has sensory perceptions†Ã‚ ¹, Descartes must†¦show more content†¦Judgments made when there is some disparity between intellect and will are potentially erroneous, and must be avoided due to this (pp.38-41). Descartes states, â€Å" †¦the scope of the will is wider than that of the intellect; but instead of restricting it within the same limits, I extend its use to maters which I do not understand† (Descartes, 40). Error exists because of this, and it is seen in a complex interaction between the faculty of intellect and the faculty of will. While it is clear that one cannot become all-knowing, he can be free of errors as long as no judgments are made on subjects that are not completely understood. As the intellect merely presents ideas in the mind, the errors made are in their judgments, and the incorrect use of free will. It is important to be aware of the distinction between the faculty of free will and the actual use of free will, as the faculty is perfect yet error may exist in its use. Error is shown as a result of the incorrect use of the tools granted to us, and it stands that error can be eliminated when these tools are only used to the best of their ability; any further use is clearly how we come to err (p. 43). Work Cited Rene Descartes, The Meditations, tr. John Cottingham, in The Philosophical Writings of Descartes Vol. 2, ed. John Cottingham, Robert Stoofhoff, Dugald Murdock (New York: University of Cambridge Press, 1984), p.Show MoreRelatedThe Meditations By Rene Descartes1384 Words   |  6 PagesRenà © Descartes main goal in the Meditations is to establish that one exists and that a perfect God exists. However, he first argues that the idea that everything perceived around one could be false because the senses are sometimes deceiving. In the first Meditation, Descartes introduces skepticism and brings forth a method of doubt in which he evaluates his beliefs, and questions whether they are true or false and why they should be doubted. 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