Who is Philosophers? Who is Philosophy for?

Course and Semester : Fa24 ETHS 381

Course Week # 4

Who is Philosophers? Who is Philosophy for?

A.

After that I considered in general what is needed for a proposition to be true and certain: I had just found one that I knew was true and certain, I thought that I ought also to know what this certainty consists in. I observed that the proposition ‘I am thinking, therefore I exist’ has nothing about it to assure me that I am speaking the truth ·when I assert it· except that I see very clearly that in order to think it is necessary to exist. This convinced me that I could take it as a general rule that the things we conceive very vividly and very clearly are all true; but ·this isn’t as powerfully simple a rule as you might think, because· there is some difficulty in telling which conceptions are really clear. Next, I reflected on the fact that I was doubting, and that consequently I wasn’t wholly perfect (for I saw clearly that it is a greater perfection to know than to doubt). This led me to the question: Where did I get my ability to think of something more perfect than I am? and I drew the obvious conclusion that this ability had to come from—·had to be caused by·—something that was in fact more perfect than me. ·To explain why I reached that conclusion, I should first explain why· I wasn’t exercised about such questions as Where did I get my ability to think of the heavens, the earth, light, heat (and so on)? It was because I saw nothing in those thoughts that seemed to make them superior to me, ·i.e. more perfect than I am·; and ·that opened the door to a pair of possible explanations for my ability to have them·(  Rene Descartes, 1637)

After that, I started thinking about what makes something true and certain. Since I had just found one idea that was clearly true—”I think, therefore I exist”—I realized that I know it’s true because thinking requires existence. So, I concluded that whatever we understand clearly must be true, though it’s not always easy to know which thoughts are clear.

I then realized that my ability to doubt shows I’m not perfect, since knowing is better than doubting. This made me wonder where my idea of something more perfect than myself came from, and I concluded it must have come from something truly more perfect.

I didn’t worry as much about where my thoughts of things like the heavens or earth came from, since they didn’t seem more perfect than me. Those could be explained differently. ( Rene Descartes, 1637, p.15).

I believe the paragraph answers the question because it addresses the nature of certainty and knowledge, suggesting that we “know” things when they are clear and self-evident to us. The passage focuses on the idea that when we perceive something with absolute clarity, we can be certain of its truth. This is central to why people know things, according to Descartes’ philosophy.

The phrase “I am thinking, therefore I exist” is used as an example of this kind of clear knowledge. Descartes argues that such knowledge is undeniable because it is directly and vividly experienced by the mind. From this, he develops the idea that the mind can know anything that it perceives with the same level of clarity and certainty. This provides a framework for understanding why humans know things: because our ability to clearly and distinctly understand certain truths is the foundation of knowledge.

Therefore, the passage indirectly explains that knowledge comes from our capacity to perceive certain truths clearly and without doubt. This process of clear thinking and reflection is how we come to “know” things.

1. This March, for my birthday, I went to Cancun, Mexico with my friends. Originally, we planned to visit Jamaica, but after hearing rumors about high crime rates there, my friends suggested Mexico instead. I was hesitan because I had seen worrying TikTok videos and social media posts about cartels and crime in Mexico, which made me very anxious.

During the first few days, I was still worried about cartels and criminals. However, after spending a few days at the resort and experiencing the friendly customer service both inside and outside the resort, I started to relax. I became comfortable enough to go shopping and visit the spa on my own, and I even began taking the bus and taxis by myself.

This experience made me agree with Descartes’ idea that new experiences and meeting new people can challenge and change our previously held beliefs, especially regarding topics like race and racism.