PHILOS 1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Cogito Ergo Sum, Performative Utterance, Mental Substance
Document Summary
Second meditation: the nature of the human mind and how it is better known than the body. What the meditator sees does not exist, her memory is faulty, corporeal extension, movement, and place are mistaken notions, and she has no senses and no body. The only certain thing remaining is that there is no certainty. T(cid:449)o (cid:449)a(cid:455)s of readi(cid:374)g (cid:862)i a(cid:373), i e(cid:454)ist(cid:863) Intuition- something that comes all at once in a flash: performative utterance- the saying of the phrase itself confirms its truth. Ca(cid:374)(cid:374)ot sa(cid:455) or thi(cid:374)k the phrase if o(cid:374)e did(cid:374)"t e(cid:454)ist. Can only do so in present tense. The cogito is an example of how the meditator can use the mind: (cid:862)i thi(cid:374)k, i e(cid:454)ist(cid:863) is (cid:373)ea(cid:374)t as a(cid:374) i(cid:374)itial starti(cid:374)g poi(cid:374)t to sho(cid:449) us ho(cid:449) to lear(cid:374) to gai(cid:374) knowledge. It does (cid:374)ot sho(cid:449) us (cid:449)hat the (cid:862)i(cid:863) is that e(cid:454)ists: (cid:862)illu(cid:373)i(cid:374)ati(cid:448)e stage(cid:863) Nature of the (cid:373)i(cid:374)d: (cid:862)a thi(cid:374)g that thi(cid:374)ks(cid:863) (cid:894)su(cid:373) res cogita(cid:374)s(cid:895)
