Meditotions on lirst Phi/osophy

1
(subLlLled lo wblcb tbe exlsteoce of CoJ ooJ tbe lmmottollty of tbe
sool ote JemoosttoteJ% ls a phllosophlcal LreaLlse wrlLLen by 8ene uescarLes and flrsL publlshed ln 1641
(ln LaLln% 1he lrench LranslaLlon (by Lhe uuke of Luynes wlLh Lhe supervlslon of uescarLes% was
publlshed ln 1647 as MJltotloos Metopbyslpoes 1he orlglnal LaLln LlLle ls Meditotiones de primo
phi/osophio in quo uei existentio et onim immorto/itos demonstrotur
1he book ls made up of slx meJltotloos ln whlch uescarLes flrsL dlscards all bellef ln Lhlngs whlch are noL
absoluLely cerLaln and Lhen Lrles Lo esLabllsh whaL can be known for sure 1he medlLaLlons were wrlLLen
as lf he were medlLaLlng for 6 days each medlLaLlon refers Lo Lhe lasL one as yesLerday (ln facL
uescarLes began work on Lhe MeJltotloos ln 1639
2
%
1he MeJltotloos conslsL of Lhe presenLaLlon of uescarLes meLaphyslcal sysLem ln lLs mosL deLalled level
and ln Lhe expandlng of uescarLes phllosophlcal sysLem whlch he flrsL lnLroduced ln Lhe fourLh parL of
hls ulscootse oo MetboJ (1637% uescarLes meLaphyslcal LhoughL ls also found ln Lhe ltloclples of
lbllosopby (1644% whlch Lhe auLhor lnLended Lo be a phllosophy guldebook
Summary of MedlLaLlons 11 MedlLaLlon l Concernlng 1hose 1hlngs 1haL Can 8e Called lnLo uoubL
12 MedlLaLlon ll Concernlng Lhe naLure of Lhe Puman Mlnd 1haL lL ls 8eLLer known 1han Lhe 8ody
13 MedlLaLlon lll Concernlng Cod 1haL Pe LxlsLs
14 MedlLaLlon lv Concernlng Lhe 1rue and Lhe lalse
1 MedlLaLlon v Concernlng Lhe Lssence of MaLerlal 1hlngs and Agaln Concernlng Cod 1haL Pe LxlsLs
16 MedlLaLlon vl Concernlng Lhe LxlsLence of MaLerlal 1hlngs and Lhe 8eal ulsLlncLlon beLween Mlnd
and 8ody

2 Cb[ecLlons and replles
3 See also
4 noLes and references 41 CollecLed works ln lrench and LaLln
42 Lngllsh LranslaLlons
43 Slngle works
lurLher readlng
6 LxLernal llnks
Summary of MedlLaLlons
edlL MedlLaLlon l Concernlng 1hose 1hlngs 1haL Can 8e Called lnLo uoub
1he flrsL way LhaL uescarLes Lrles Lo undermlne hls bellefs ls by conslderlng Lhe facL LhaL he remembers
LhaL hls senses have decelved hlm before lf he has been mlsled by sensory lnformaLlon ln Lhe pasL (eg
he [udged LhaL Lhe sLlck ln Lhe waLer was benL when ln facL lL was sLralghL% Lhen he may be decelved
now and lL ls prudenL never Lo LrusL compleLely Lhose who have decelved us even once
Pe goes on Lo suggesL more powerful reasons Lo doubL LhaL hls bellefs are Lrue ln general hls meLhod ls
LhaL of formlng skepLlcal hypoLheses meLhodlc doubL ln Lhe flrsL medlLaLlon he conslders wheLher
he ls mad dreamlng or decelved by an evll demon3
1he general form of Lhese argumenLs ls
1lf l am dreamlng/decelved Lhen my bellefs are unrellable
uescarLes goal as sLaLed aL Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe medlLaLlon ls Lo suspend [udgmenL abouL any of
hls bellefs whlch are even sllghLly doubLful 1he skepLlcal scenarlos show LhaL all of Lhe bellefs whlch he
conslders ln Lhe flrsL medlLaLlon lncludlng aL Lhe very leasL all of hls bellefs abouL Lhe physlcal world are
doubLful So he decldes Lo suspend [udgmenL Pe wlll henceforLh glve up all of hls bellefs abouL Lhe
physlcal world Pe also decldes LhaL he wlll conLlnually remlnd hlmself Lo avold hablLually falllng lnLo
accepLlng bellefs wlLhouL supporL a hablL Lo whlch he ls suscepLlble
edlL MedlLaLlon ll Concernlng Lhe naLure of Lhe Puman Mlnd 1haL lL ls 8eLLer known 1han Lhe 8ody
ln MedlLaLlon ll Concernlng 1he naLure of Lhe Puman Mlnd 1haL lL ls 8eLLer known 1han 1he 8ody
uescarLes lays ouL a paLLern of LhoughL someLlmes called represenLaLlonallsm ln response Lo Lhe
doubLs forwarded ln MedlLaLlon l Pe ldenLlfles flve sLeps ln Lhls Lheory
1Je only have access Lo Lhe world of our ldeas Lhlngs ln Lhe world are only accessed lndlrecLly
21hese ldeas are undersLood Lo lnclude all of Lhe conLenLs of Lhe mlnd lncludlng percepLlons lmages
memorles concepLs bellefs lnLenLlons declslons eLc
3ldeas and Lhe Lhlngs Lhey represenL are separaLe from each oLher
41hese represenLed Lhlngs are many Llmes exLernal Lo Lhe mlnd
lL ls posslble for Lhese ldeas Lo consLlLuLe elLher accuraLe or false represenLaLlons
uescarLes argues LhaL Lhls represenLaLlonal Lheory dlsconnecLs Lhe world from Lhe mlnd leadlng Lo Lhe
need for some sorL of brldge Lo span Lhe separaLlon and provlde good reasons Lo belleve LhaL Lhe ldeas
accuraLely represenL Lhe ouLslde world 1he flrsL plank he uses ln consLrucLlng Lhls brldge can be found
ln Lhe followlng excerpL

l have convlnced myself LhaL Lhere ls noLhlng ln Lhe world no sky no earLh no mlnds no bodles
uoesnL lL follow LhaL l donL exlsL? no surely l musL exlsL lf lLs me who ls convlnced of someLhlng 8uL
Lhere ls a decelver supremely powerful and cunnlng whose alm ls Lo see LhaL l am always decelved 8
surely l exlsL lf l am decelved LeL hlm decelve me all he can he wlll never make lL Lhe case LhaL l am
noLhlng whlle l Lhlnk LhaL l am someLhlng 1hus havlng fully welghed every conslderaLlon l musL flnally
conclude LhaL Lhe sLaLemenL l am l exlsL musL be Lrue whenever l sLaLe lL or menLally conslder lL
(uescarLes MedlLaLlon ll Cn Lhe naLure of Lhe Puman Mlnd Jhlch ls 8eLLer known 1han Lhe 8ody%
ln oLher words ones consclousness lmplles ones exlsLence ln one of uescarLes replles Lo ob[ecLlons Lo
Lhe book he summed Lhls up ln Lhe phrase l am l exlsL whlch ls ofLen confused wlLh Lhe famous
quoLe l Lhlnk Lherefore l am
Cnce he has secured hls exlsLence however uescarLes seeks Lo flnd ouL whaL l ls Pe re[ecLs Lhe
Lyplcal meLhod whlch looks for a deflnlLlon eg 8aLlonal Anlmal because Lhe words used ln Lhe
deflnlLlon would Lhen need Lo be deflned Pe seeks slmple Lerms LhaL do noL need Lo be deflned ln Lhls
way buL whose meanlng can [usL be seen lrom Lhese selfevldenL LruLhs complex Lerms can be bullL
up
1he flrsL of Lhese selfevldenL LruLhs ls uescarLes proof of exlsLence Lurned on lLs head
8uL whaL Lhen am l? A Lhlnklng Lhlng And whaL ls LhaL? SomeLhlng LhaL doubLs undersLands afflrms
denles wllls refuses and also senses and has menLal lmages (uescarLes MedlLaLlon ll Cn Lhe naLure
of Lhe Puman Mlnd Jhlch ls 8eLLer known 1han Lhe 8ody%
1o deflne hlmself furLher uescarLes Lurns Lo Lhe example of wax Pe deLermlnes LhaL wax lsnL wax
because of lLs color LexLure or shape as all of Lhese Lhlngs can change and Lhe subsLance sLlll be wax
Pe belleves LhaL wax ls percelved by Lhe lnLellecL alone (MedlLaLlon ll Cn Lhe naLure of Lhe Puman
Mlnd Jhlch ls 8eLLer known 1han Lhe 8ody% 1herefore he dlsLlngulshes beLween ordlnary percepLlon
and [udgmenL Jhen one undersLands Lhe maLhemaLlcal prlnclples of Lhe subsLance such as lLs
expanslon under heaL flgure and moLlon Lhe knowledge of Lhe wax can be clear and dlsLlncL
lf a subsLance such as wax can be known ln Lhls fashlon Lhen Lhe same musL be of ourselves 1he self
Lhen ls noL deLermlned by whaL we sense of ourselves Lhese hands Lhls head Lhese eyes buL by
slmply Lhe Lhlngs one Lhlnks 1hus one canL grasp anyLhlng more easlly or plalnly Lhan hls mlnd4
uescarLes concludes LhaL he exlsLs because he ls a Lhlnklng Lhlng lf he ls Lhe Lhlng LhaL can be
decelved and can Lhlnk and have LhoughLs Lhen he musL exlsL
edlL MedlLaLlon lll Concernlng Cod 1haL Pe LxlsLs
uescarLes proposed LhaL Lhere are Lhree Lypes of ldeas lnnaLe lacLlLlous and AdvenLlLlous lnnaLe
ldeas are and have always been wlLhln us facLlLlous or lnvenLed ldeas come from our lmaglnaLlon and
AdvenLlLlous ldeas come from experlences of Lhe world Pe argues LhaL Lhe ldea of Cod ls lnnaLe and
placed ln us by Cod and he re[ecLed Lhe posslblllLy LhaL Lhe ldea of Cod ls lnvenLed or AdvenLlLlous
ArgumenL 1
1SomeLhlng can noL come from noLhlng
21he cause of an ldea musL have aL leasL as much formal reallLy as Lhe ldea has ob[ecLlve reallLy
3l have ln me an ldea of Cod 1hls ldea has lnflnlLe ob[ecLlve reallLy
4l cannoL be Lhe cause of Lhls ldea slnce l am noL an lnflnlLe and perfecL belng l donL have enough
formal reallLy Cnly an lnflnlLe and perfecL belng could cause such an ldea
So Cod a belng wlLh lnflnlLe formal reallLy musL exlsL (and be Lhe source of my ldea of Cod%
6An absoluLely perfecL belng ls a good benevolenL belng
7So Cod ls benevolenL
8So Cod would noL decelve me and would noL permlL me Lo error wlLhouL glvlng me a way Lo correcL
my errors
ArgumenL 2
1l exlsL
2My exlsLence musL have a cause
31he only posslble ulLlmaLe causes are
a% myself b% my always havlng exlsLed c% my parenLs d% someLhlng less perfecL Lhan Cod e% Cod 4 noL a
lf l had creaLed myself l would have made myself perfecL noL b 1hls does noL solve Lhe problem lf l
am a dependenL belng l need Lo be conLlnually susLalned by anoLher 6 noL c 1hls leads Lo an lnflnlLe
regress 7 noL d 1he ldea of perfecLlon LhaL exlsLs ln me cannoL have orlglnaLed from a nonperfecL
belng 8 1herefore e Cod exlsLs
uescarLes argued LhaL he had a clear and dlsLlncL ldea of Cod ln Lhe same way LhaL Lhe coglLo was self
evldenL so Loo ls Lhe exlsLence of Cod as hls perfecL ldea of a perfecL belng could noL have been caused
by anyLhlng less Lhan a perfecL belng
edlL MedlLaLlon lv Concernlng Lhe 1rue and Lhe lalse
1he concluslons of Lhe prevlous MedlLaLlons LhaL l and Cod boLh exlsL lead Lo anoLher problem lf
Cod ls perfecLly good and Lhe source of all LhaL ls how ls Lhere room for error or falsehood? uescarLes
aLLempLs Lo answer Lhls quesLlon ln MedlLaLlon lv Cn 1ruLh and lalslLy
lf lve goLLen everyLhlng ln me from Cod and Pe hasnL glven me Lhe ablllLy Lo make errors lL doesnL
seem posslble for me ever Lo error (uescarLes MedlLaLlon lv Cn 1ruLh and lalslLy%
1he framework of hls argumenLs cenLer on Lhe CreaL Chaln of 8elng ln whlch Cods perfecL goodness ls
relaLlve Lo Pls perfecL belng Cn Lhe exLreme opposlLe end of Lhe scale ls compleLe noLhlngness whlch ls
also Lhe mosL evll sLaLe posslble 1hus humans are an lnLermedlary beLween Lhese Lwo exLremes belng
less real or good Lhan Cod buL more real and good Lhan noLhlngness 1hus error (as a parL o
evll% ls noL a poslLlve reallLy lL ls only Lhe absence of whaL ls correcL ln Lhls way lLs exlsLence ls allowed
wlLhln Lhe conLexL of a perfecLly lnerranL Cod
l flnd LhaL l am lnLermedlaLe beLween Cod and noLhlngness beLween Lhe supreme enLlLy and
nonenLlLy lnsofar as l am Lhe creaLlon of Lhe supreme enLlLy Lheres noLhlng ln me Lo accounL for my
belng decelved or led lnLo error buL lnasmuch as l somehow parLlclpaLe ln noLhlng or nonenLlLy LhaL
ls lnsofar as l am dlsLlncL from Lhe supreme enLlLy lLself and lack many Lhlngs lLs noL surprlslng LhaL l
go wrong l Lhus undersLand LhaL ln lLself error ls a lack raLher Lhan a real Lhlng dependenL on Cod
Pence l undersLand LhaL l can err wlLhouL Cods havlng glven me a speclal ablllLy Lo do so 8aLher l fall
lnLo error because my Codglven ablllLy Lo [udge Lhe LruLh ls noL lnflnlLe (uescarLes MedlLaLlon lv Cn
1ruLh and lalslLy%
uescarLes also concedes Lwo polnLs LhaL mlghL allow for Lhe posslblllLy of hls ablllLy Lo make errors llrsL
he noLes LhaL lL ls very posslble LhaL hls llmlLed knowledge prevenLs hlm from undersLandlng why Cod
chose Lo creaLe hlm so he could make mlsLakes lf he could see Lhe Lhlngs LhaL Cod could see wlLh a
compleLe and lnflnlLe scope perhaps he would [udge hls ablllLy Lo err as Lhe besL opLlon Pe uses Lhls
polnL Lo aLLack Lhe ArlsLoLellan sLrucLure of causes 1he flnal cause descrlbed by ArlsLoLle are Lhe whaL
for of an ob[ecL buL uescarLes clalms LhaL because he ls unable Lo comprehend compleLely Lhe mlnd of
Cod lL ls lmposslble Lo undersLand compleLely Lhe why Lhrough sclence only Lhe how
l reallze LhaL l shouldnL be surprlsed aL Cods dolng Lhlngs LhaL l canL explaln l shouldnL doubL Pls
exlsLence [usL because l flnd LhaL l someLlmes canL undersLand why or how Pe has made someLhlng l
know LhaL my naLure ls weak and llmlLed and LhaL Cods ls llmlLless lncomprehenslble and lnflnlLe and
from Lhls l can lnfer LhaL Pe can do lnnumerable Lhlngs whose reasons are unknown Lo me Cn Lhls
ground alone l regard Lhe common pracLlce of explalnlng Lhlngs ln Lerms of Lhelr purposes Lo be useless
ln physlcs lL would be foolhardy of me Lo Lhlnk LhaL l can dlscover Cods purposes (uescarLes
MedlLaLlon lv Cn 1ruLh and lalslLy%
Second he conslders Lhe posslblllLy LhaL an apparenL error aL Lhe lndlvldual level could be undersLood
wlLhln Lhe LoLallLy of creaLlon as error free
Jhen asklng wheLher Cods works are perfecL l oughL Lo look aL all of Lhem LogeLher noL aL one
lsolaLlon lor someLhlng LhaL seems lmperfecL when vlewed alone mlghL seem compleLely perfecL when
regarded as havlng a place ln Lhe world Cf course slnce calllng everyLhlng lnLo doubL l havenL
esLabllshed LhaL anyLhlng exlsLs besldes me and Cod 8uL when l conslder Cods lmmense power l canL
deny LhaL Pe has made or ln any case LhaL Pe could have made many oLher Lhlngs and l musL
Lherefore vlew myself as havlng a place ln a unlverse (uescarLes MedlLaLlon lv Cn 1ruLh and lalslLy%
LasLly MedlLaLlon lv aLLrlbuLes Lhe source of error Lo a dlscrepancy beLween Lwo dlvlne glfLs
undersLandlng and free wlll undersLandlng ls glven ln an lncompleLe form whlle wlll (by naLure% can
only be elLher compleLely glven or noL glven aL all Jhen he ls presenLed wlLh a cerLaln amounL of
undersLandlng and Lhen chooses Lo acL ouLslde of LhaL he ls ln error 1hus Lhe glfLs of Cod
(undersLandlng and wlll% boLh remaln good and only Lhe lncorrecL usage by hlm remalns as errorlf l
suspend [udgemenL when l donL clearly and dlsLlncLly grasp whaL ls Lrue l obvlously do rlghL and am noL
decelved 8uL lf l elLher afflrm or deny ln a case of Lhls sorL l mlsuse my freedom of cholce lf l afflrm
whaL ls false l clearly err and lf l sLumble onLo Lhe LruLh lm sLlll blameworLhy slnce Lhe llghL of naLure
reveals LhaL a percepLlon of Lhe undersLandlng should always precede a declslon of Lhe wlll ln Lhese
mlsuses of freedom of cholce lles Lhe deprlvaLlon LhaL accounLs for error And Lhls deprlvaLlon l
malnLaln lles ln Lhe worklng of Lhe wlll lnsofar as lL comes from me noL ln my Codglven ablllLy Lo wlll
or even ln Lhe wllls operaLlon lnsofar as lL derlves from Plm (uescarLes MedlLaLlon lv Cn 1ruLh and
lalslLy%
edlL MedlLaLlon v Concernlng Lhe Lssence of MaLerlal 1hlngs and Agaln Concernlng Cod 1haL Pe
LxlsLs
MedlLaLlon v Concernlng Lhe Lssence of MaLerlal 1hlngs and Agaln Concernlng Cod 1haL Pe LxlsLs
beglns wlLh Lhe sLaLed purpose of expandlng Lhe known lLems of Cod and self Lo lnclude ouLslde
maLerlal ob[ecLs buL uescarLes saves LhaL for MedlLaLlon vl ln lleu of someLhlng he deems more
fundamenLal buL ln Lhe same dlrecLlon a dlscusslon concernlng Lhe ldeas of Lhose exLernal lLems Along
Lhe way he advances anoLher loglcal proof of Cods exlsLence
8efore asklng wheLher any such ob[ecLs exlsL ouLslde me l oughL Lo conslder Lhe ldeas of Lhese ob[ecLs
as Lhey exlsL ln my LhoughLs and see whlch are clear and whlch confused (uescarLes MedlLaLlon v Cn
Lhe Lssence of MaLerlal Cb[ecLs and More on Cods LxlsLence%
uescarLes separaLes exLernal ob[ecLs lnLo Lhose LhaL are clear and dlsLlncL and Lhose LhaL are confused
and obscure 1he former group conslsLs of Lhe ldeas of exLenslon duraLlon and movemenL 1hese
geomeLrlcal ldeas cannoL be mlsconsLrued or comblned ln a way LhaL makes Lhem false lor example lf
Lhe ldea of a creaLure wlLh Lhe head of a glraffe Lhe body of a llon and Lall of a beaver was consLrucLed
and Lhe quesLlon asked lf Lhe creaLure had a large lnLesLlne Lhe answer would have Lo be lnvenLed 8uL
no maLhemaLlcal rearrangemenL of a Lrlangle could allow lLs Lhree lnLernal angles Lo sum Lo anyLhlng
buL 180 degrees 1hus uescarLes percelved LhaL LruLhs may have a naLure or essence of Lhemselves
lndependenL of Lhe Lhlnker (ln uescarLes formulaLlon Lhls ls a maLhemaLlcal LruLh only pragmaLlcally
relaLed Lo naLure Lhe properLles of Lrlangles ln Luclldean geomeLry remaln maLhemaLlcally cerLaln6
Lhough lL was laLer dlscovered LhaL Lhe lnLernal angles ln real local Lrlangles sum Lo more Lhan 180
degrees%
l flnd ln myself lnnumerable ldeas of Lhlngs whlch Lhough Lhey may noL exlsL ouLslde me canL be sald
Lo be noLhlng Jhlle l have some conLrol over my LhoughLs of Lhese Lhlngs l do noL make Lhe Lhlngs up
Lhey have Lhelr own real and lmmuLable naLures Suppose for example LhaL l have a menLal lmage of a
Lrlangle Jhlle lL may be LhaL no flgure of Lhls sorL does exlsL or ever has exlsLed ouLslde my LhoughL Lhe
flgure has a flxed naLure (essence or form% lmmuLable and eLernal whlch hasnL been produced by me
and lsnL dependenL of my mlnd (uescarLes MedlLaLlon v Cn Lhe Lssence of MaLerlal Cb[ecLs and More
on Cods LxlsLence%
Jhlle Lhlnklng abouL Lhe lndependence of Lhese ldeas of exLernal ob[ecLs uescarLes reallzes LhaL he ls
[usL as cerLaln abouL Cod as he ls abouL Lhese maLhemaLlcal ldeas Pe asserLs LhaL Lhls ls naLural as Lhe
ldeas of Cod are Lhe only ldeas LhaL lmply Cods exlsLence Pe uses Lhe example of a mounLaln and a
valley Jhlle one cannoL plcLure a mounLaln wlLhouL a valley lLs posslble LhaL Lhese do noL exlsL
Powever Lhe facL LhaL one cannoL concelve of Cod wlLhouL exlsLence lnherenLly rules ouL Lhe posslblllLy
of Cods nonexlsLence Slmply puL Lhe argumenL ls framed as follows
1Cod ls deflned as an lnflnlLely perfecL belng
29erfecLlon lncludes exlsLence
3So Cod exlsLs
1hls onLologlcal argumenL orlglnaLed ln Lhe work of SL Anselm Lhe medleval ScholasLlc phllosopher and
Lheologlan Jhlle uescarLes had already clalmed Lo have conflrmed Cods exlsLence Lhrough prevlous
argumenLs Lhls one allows hlm Lo puL Lo resL any dlsconLenL he mlghL have had wlLh hls dlsLlncL and
clear crlLerla for LruLh JlLh a conflrmed exlsLence of Cod all doubL LhaL whaL one prevlously LhoughL
was real and noL a dream can be removed Pavlng made Lhls reallzaLlon uescarLes asserLs LhaL wlLhouL
Lhls sure knowledge ln Lhe exlsLence of a supreme and perfecL belng assurance of any LruLh ls
lmposslble
quoLe |LexL 1hus l plalnly see LhaL Lhe cerLalnLy and LruLh of all my knowledge derlves from one
Lhlng my LhoughL of Lhe Lrue Cod 8efore l knew Plm l couldnL know anyLhlng else perfecLly 8uL now l
can plalnly and cerLalnly know lnnumerable Lhlngs noL only abouL Cod and oLher menLal belngs buL
also abouL Lhe naLure of physlcal ob[ecLs lnsofar as lL ls Lhe sub[ecLmaLLer of pure maLhemaLlcs |slgn
uescarLes |source MedlLaLlon v Cn Lhe Lssence of MaLerlal Cb[ecLs and More on Cods LxlsLence%7
edlL MedlLaLlon vl Concernlng Lhe LxlsLence of MaLerlal 1hlngs and Lhe 8eal ulsLlncLlon beLween
Mlnd and 8ody
ln MedlLaLlon vl Concernlng Lhe LxlsLence of MaLerlal 1hlngs and Lhe 8eal ulsLlncLlon beLween Mlnd
and 8ody uescarLes addresses Lhe poLenLlal exlsLence of maLerlal ouLslde of Lhe self and Cod llrsL he
asserLs LhaL such ob[ecLs can exlsL slmply because Cod ls able Lo make Lhem
lnsofar as Lhey are Lhe sub[ecL of pure maLhemaLlcs l now know aL leasL LhaL Lhey can exlsL because l
grasp Lhem clearly and dlsLlncLly lor Cod can undoubLedly make whaLever l can grasp ln Lhls way and l
never [udge LhaL someLhlng ls lmposslble for Plm Lo make unless Lhere would be a conLradlcLlon ln my
grasplng Lhe Lhlng dlsLlncLly (uescarLes MedlLaLlon vl Cn Lhe LxlsLence of MaLerlal Cb[ecLs from 8ody%
knowlng LhaL Lhe exlsLence of such ob[ecLs ls posslble uescarLes Lhen Lurns Lo Lhe prevalence of menLal
lmages as proof 1o do Lhls he draws a dlsLlncLlon beLween lmaglnaLlon and undersLandlng lmaglnaLlon
belng a nonllngulsLlc faculLy of knowledge Lo Lhe body whlch ls lmmedlaLely presenL Lo lL wlLhouL
lnLellecLlon or concepLlon whlch Lherefore exlsLs llke a menLal phoLograph and undersLandlng (or
apprehendlng% belng someLhlng LhaL ls noL necessarlly plcLured Pe uses an example of Lhls Lo clarlfy
Jhen l have a menLal lmage of a Lrlangle for example l donL [usL undersLand LhaL lL ls a flgure
bounded by Lhree llnes l also look aL Lhe llnes as Lhough Lhey were presenL Lo my mlnds eye And Lhls
ls whaL l call havlng a menLal lmage Jhen l wanL Lo Lhlnk of a chlllagon l undersLand LhaL lL ls a flgure
wlLh a Lhousand sldes as well as l undersLand LhaL a Lrlangle ls a flgure wlLh Lhree buL l canL lmaglne lLs
sldes or look aL Lhem as Lhough Lhey were presenL (% 1hus l observe LhaL a speclal efforL of mlnd ls
necessary Lo Lhe acL of lmaglnaLlon whlch ls noL requlred Lo concelvlng or undersLandlng (ad
lnLelllgendum% and Lhls speclal exerLlon of mlnd clearly shows Lhe dlfference beLween lmaglnaLlon and
pure lnLellecLlon (lmaglnaLlo eL lnLellecLlo pura% (uescarLes MedlLaLlon vl Cn Lhe LxlsLence of MaLerlal
Cb[ecLs and Lhe 8eal ulsLlncLlon of Mlnd from 8ody%8
uescarLes has sLlll noL glven proof LhaL such exLernal ob[ecLs exlsL AL Lhls polnL he has only shown LhaL
Lhelr exlsLence could convenlenLly explaln Lhls menLal process 1o obLaln Lhls proof he flrsL revlews hls
premlses for Lhe MedlLaLlons LhaL Lhe senses cannoL be LrusLed and whaL he ls LaughL by naLure
does noL have much credence Powever he vlews Lhese argumenLs wlLhln a new conLexL afLer wrlLlng
MedlLaLlon l he has proved Lhe exlsLence of hlmself and of a perfecL Cod 1hus uescarLes [umps qulckly
Lo proofs of Lhe dlvlslon beLween Lhe body and mlnd and LhaL maLerlal Lhlngs exlsL
9roof for Lhe body belng dlsLlncL from Lhe mlnd
1lL ls posslble for Cod Lo creaLe anyLhlng l can clearly and dlsLlncLly percelve
2lf Cod creaLes someLhlng Lo be lndependenL of anoLher Lhey are dlsLlncL from each oLher
3l clearly and dlsLlncLly undersLand my exlsLence as a Lhlnklng Lhlng (whlch does noL requlre Lhe
exlsLence of a body%
4So Cod can creaLe a Lhlnklng Lhlng lndependenLly of a body
l clearly and dlsLlncLly undersLand my body as an exLended Lhlng (whlch does noL requlre a mlnd%
6So Cod can creaLe a body lndependenLly of a mlnd
7So my mlnd ls a reallLy dlsLlncL from my body
8So l (a Lhlnklng Lhlng% can exlsL wlLhouL a body
1hls has been crlLlclzed [usL because Cod can creaLe a mlnd and body lndependenLly of each oLher (2%
lL does noL necessarlly follow LhaL he has (7%
9roof of Lhe reallLy of exLernal maLerlal Lhlngs
1l have a sLrong lncllnaLlon Lo belleve ln Lhe reallLy of exLernal maLerlal Lhlngs due Lo my senses
2Cod musL have creaLed me wlLh Lhls naLure
3lf lndependenL maLerlal Lhlngs do noL exlsL Cod ls a decelver
48uL Cod ls noL a decelver
So maLerlal Lhlngs exlsL and conLaln Lhe properLles essenLlal Lo Lhem
AfLer uslng Lhese Lwo argumenLs Lo dlspel sollpslsm and skepLlclsm uescarLes seems Lo have succeeded
ln deflnlng reallLy as belng ln Lhree parLs Cod (lnflnlLe% mlnds and maLerlal Lhlngs (boLh flnlLe% Pe
closes by addresslng naLural phenomena LhaL mlghL appear Lo challenge hls phllosophy such as
phanLom llmbs dreams and dropsy