Descartes Second Meditation
Descartes views in the Second Meditation is that he tries to clarify precisely what this “I” is, this “thing that he thinks.” He concludes that he is not only something that thinks, understands, and wills, but is also something that imagines and senses. Even though he thinks he may be dreaming or deceived by an evil demon, he’s still something that can imagine, hear, and see things. His sensory perceptions may not be truthful, but they are certainly a part of the same mind that thinks. He believes that the senses, as we have seen, cannot be trusted, and should be doubted. Similarly, he also states he cannot trust imagination. The imagination can come up with all sorts of things that are not real, so with it being said, it can’t be the guide
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Descartes first considers what he can know about the piece of wax by means of the senses: taste, smell, color, shape, size, hardness, etc. What happens when the piece of wax is placed near the fire and melted? The realistic qualities change. So, the wax is now soft when before it was hard. Nonetheless, even though the wax was melted down and made soft when before it was hard, it is still wax and it remains. Our knowledge that the solid piece of wax and the melted piece of wax are the same cannot come through our senses because all the realistic qualities of the wax have been changed. He then considers what he can know about the wax and concludes that it’s extended, flexible, and changeable. He doesn’t come to know this through the senses and realizes it is impossible to know all the different shapes the wax can turn into through using his imagination, but only by using his intellect alone. His mental perception of can either be imperfect and confused, as when he allowed himself to be led by his senses and imagination, or it can be clear and distinct, as it is when he applies only careful mental scrutiny to his perception of it. Everything is just a mind thing and using your intellect to understand what’s in front of you and help you distinguish everything that the object can do. That is why our mind is a powerful thing, more powerful than the body because there’s just so much we can know and do with the mind
Descartes first considers what he can know about the piece of wax by means of the senses: taste, smell, color, shape, size, hardness, etc. What happens when the piece of wax is placed near the fire and melted? The realistic qualities change. So, the wax is now soft when before it was hard. Nonetheless, even though the wax was melted down and made soft when before it was hard, it is still wax and it remains. Our knowledge that the solid piece of wax and the melted piece of wax are the same cannot come through our senses because all the realistic qualities of the wax have been changed. He then considers what he can know about the wax and concludes that it’s extended, flexible, and changeable. He doesn’t come to know this through the senses and realizes it is impossible to know all the different shapes the wax can turn into through using his imagination, but only by using his intellect alone. His mental perception of can either be imperfect and confused, as when he allowed himself to be led by his senses and imagination, or it can be clear and distinct, as it is when he applies only careful mental scrutiny to his perception of it. Everything is just a mind thing and using your intellect to understand what’s in front of you and help you distinguish everything that the object can do. That is why our mind is a powerful thing, more powerful than the body because there’s just so much we can know and do with the mind