How I read Descartes’ meditations.

Good ol’ Descartes. He has singularly (with the exception of perhaps Aristotle) caused more damage to Western civilization indirectly yet have actually had pretty decent ideas for the time. Descartes’ meditations are certainly the epoch of such a bizzare discovery, so, in the way I read it, let me guide you through meditations one to six. Just a reminder, the meditations build off of each other as they go on, to a final understanding.

Descartes’ First Mediation

I, Descartes, have decided to undertake the labourious task of doubting everything that can be doubted as I believe that we may have rested on shaky assumptions about this world. So I will look upon this world. Surely you must be a madman to doubt the world? Well… hang on. You have people taking LSD and seeing all kinds of scary shit that isn’t there, so, yeah. I guess I could theoreticaly doubt the world because my senses could deceive me. I may not be seeing red, or blue, or green or trees or people. I could be simply tripping massive balls. Maybe some goon because he has nothing better to do than freak out people tripping massive balls and is hiding it all from me. Obviously I must doubt everything I see, hear, touch, taste and smell. I doubt it all!

Descartes’ second meditation

Hm. Wait a tic. What does that make me then? I feel my body but I can doubt that. That must mean… yes, as a proto-scientist I must appreciate that my body itself may be put into question, that I may doubt myself as an animal, or any part of what I would readily constitute ‘life’, as this may unneccessarily complicate the matter.

Descartes Third Meditation

Erm…. GOD DID IT. No really. I can think of God, which means he must exist, because I’m not perfect, oh no no no. To think of an idea, it must have come from somewhere, and because I’m not perfect it hasn’t come from me. So God totally exists.

Descartes Fourth to Sixth Meditations

God is so, so real. He’s a nice guy too.

So as we can see, Descartes came out swinging with a couple of nice moves, but manages to shoot himself in the foot by having to submit to the traditional A WIZARD DID IT.

~ by freeze43 on May 22, 2010.