HONR 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Cartesian Doubt, Existential Crisis
Document Summary
Purpose of the text: working through existential crisis by solidifying existence. Meditations of self, god, and the physical world. Formal reality: a thing in reality; cause; has to be big enough to cause objective reality / idea. Light of nature: tells us the cause has to have enough formal reality to cause objective reality. Material falsity: like heat privation of cold or cold privation of heat (right and wrong at the same time) Descartes" crisis forces him to enter into seclusion (easier to doubt) Razes everything to the ground and builds a new foundation that is firm and lasting. Begins with a radical, extreme, hyperbolic doubt (methodological doubt employed) Doubt stems from traditional ideas crumbling in the reformation. Uses himself as a starting point (can withstand the most radical doubt) Self doubt leads to affirmation of existence (he is a thinking thing)
