Rene Descartes' Examination of the Nature of Mateial Things and What is Possible to Know of them Based on Passages from Meditations on First Philosophy. (the Wax example)

How do we know what we know? This is a question asked by Rene Descartes as well as a host of new(prenominal) philosophers. A particular personation written in Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes dubbed the Wax Passage examined the genius of material things, and what we really know about them. Descartes thought offset shall be followed, and his conclusion that if all attributes atomic number 18 stripped away, what is left-hand(a) is the essence of the mount up, will be explained.

The wax passage in and of itself is a simple train of thought to follow. The essence of the passage is Descartes belief, which he attempts to convince the reader of that, clear and distinct ideas peerless has about material objects external to their own body argon not perceived by the senses, but rather through the mind. Playing with a piece of wax, one has certain ideas, ideas primitively thought to have stemmed from the 5 senses (sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch), but tuition obtained through our senses can be shown to be false. Take, for example, this piece of wax....Its colour, figure, and size, are apparent (to the sight); it is hard, cold; easily handled; and sounds when struck upon with the finger....Let it be rigid near the fire... the colour changes, its figure is destroyed, its size increases, it becomes a liquid, it grows baking hot; it can hardly be handled....Does the uniform wax pillow after this change?



(Descartes:138) It is obvious to most people that the same wax remains, and the clear and distinct ideas of the wax remain as well, yet all ones sensory perceptions of the wax have been distorted.

Descartes asks, What, then, was it I knew with so much distinctness in the piece of wax?...it could be nothing of all that I observed by means...

I really enjoyed reading your essay because I thought the consideration was very presented and also the wax example and the sensory see was also very well explained. Overall this was a wide essay and keep up the good work

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