Over all I think that Descates is saying that we are all humans and we all make errors. Than we must live with the errors we have made and change the ones we can and better are self when doing so. I also think that he is saying that all things should be questioned, I mean that you can just look at something once and know everything about it. Sometimes you have to look deeper at things. And most of all I think he is saying that if there is no God than how does everything exist? How can things work and do as they do?

Meditations Part 4

In continuous to my other post, Descartes says that as often as he restrains his will when he makes judgments, it will mean he can't err. He says that every clear and distinct perception is definitely something , therefore, it can't be nothing. In contrast, he thinks that it must have God as its author, who is perfect and true. I think he is saying that everything that we believe all started from God himself and nowhere else. Also, he mentions that not only must he never make a mistake, at the same time he must do to so he reaches truth. He says that he will only reach the truth if he perferctly understands it and seperates that from the rest.

meditations 4 - humanity's defect

What caught my interest was Descartes explanation of error.

Basically all humans are defective, which I talked about in the last post. However he then he makes an eye- opener of a statement. He basically says that our errors are created by a defect, that defect being a lack of knowledge of something which allow us to make mistakes.

Isn't he really just going around in circles? I mean he says that we gain our knowledge from God, the perfect being, and that God will not decieve us but then why would we have a lack of knowledge which can lead to mistakes if God gives us knowledge and wouldnt trick us?.... that really gets me thinking.

His next big statement was this:
"the nature of God is immense, incomprehensible, and infinate, this is sufficient for me..."

It sounds to me from that he is just settling and choosing to except this idea but doesn't that really go against everything he said in the discourse?? Maybe he gave up because he may just have given doubt to God actually existing.... hmmm...... CRAZY!

Meditations Part 4

As I read on Descartes talks about himself and he said if he can't refrain from making mistakes, with the rule i mentioned in the post before, he said there is another way to aviod it. He said that it would mainly depend on him remembering to refrain from making judgments whenever the truth is unclear, even though he can't remain constantly focused on the same thought of knowledge. This would cause often repeated meditations and therefore, eventually make a habit of not erring. I do not really understand how this can cause no mistakes. He does not really explain how repeated meditations will not cause mistakes.

Meditations Part 4

In Meditations Part Four Descartes talks a lot about judgment, being free, and having finite knowledge. Descartes says that this can be accomplished by his own intellect with a clear and distinct perception on everything. He also talk a lot about the rule of the clear and distinct understanding of things. He says that you should never judge anything that you do not clearly and distinctly understand. And if you follows this rule than you would be more perfect than you are now, but only because God made it that way. However, when I read this I remembered before he said that God is only perfect, so it made me question his theory.

meditations 4 paragraphs 53-56

In this section descartes talks about how God is the only being that is independent because he is the one that dictates what is right and wrong. Therefore we, all of humanity are dependent on God in order to dictate. This makes us incomplete. He goes on to explain that our existence completely depends on him. We depend on him so muc in fact that we must believe that he will never decieve or trick us.

He goes on to come to the first problem of the 4th meditation. He thinks that if all that he gets from God is true and right then in turn he could never make a mistake. But then again we all know that everyone makes mistakes. This puzzles Descartes. He states that once he reflects on himself, he realizes he has made many mistakes. Could he just have stumbled over the fact that this may prove that God's existence may not be so??

After the whole question of error he says that we must have a defect and that in turn only God is perfect.

Descartes Discourse on Methods Part 4

In part four Descartes mentions that the we should not judge that the sun is as large as we see it. I think that he brings up this example to make a point about perception and our beliefs because of perception. Like just because the sun looks a certain size does not mean it is the size we perceive it as. I think this can be related to God because although we can not see him at all does not mean that he does not exist. In my opinion, this has to do with perception because perception is how we see things and since we can not see God at all, some might percieve him as not being existent. Therefore, Descartes is telling us to not judge things mainly on perception because God does exist.

Part 4 Meditations

Part 4 Mediiations 57-59

• In this part he is saying that he can not complian about what God has given him. He states that nothing in him is as perfect or God but he can still understand that they can still be perfect and great. we have a understanding of memory and imagination this is what makes us understand and believe that God is real.
• Then he goes on th say that his power of understaning is not the cause of his errors. Errors are futher than inellect with in the boundaries into things he can not understand.

The matters turn away from true and good and in this way he is deceived and sinned.

• Here he is staying that if i were not for God he would not be able to understand, think and question the wonders of the world. He is staying that he is unable to complian becasue God has given him so much to think of and wonder about. With out memory and imagination we would not be able to understand the world we live in or God.

Meditations Part 4 paragraph 70-76

In the ending of part four, he gives a lot of reasons why he should not complain that God has not given him a greater power of understanding or a greater light of nature because it is of the essence of a finite intellect not to understand many things. I think he meant that you're not supposed to understand everything, only God has that power. He said that instead of thinking that God has withheld or deprived him of things, he should be thankful because God never owed him anything. He said that he shoud thank God. I think he is saying that everyone should be thankful for the knowledge they have and not complain about the things we do not understand.

Part 4 Meditations

PART 4 MEDITATIONS/ 57-59

In paragraph 57 he states "I focus more closely on myself and inquire into the natures of my errors. (Just as Rechel had said he is now focusing more). He goes on to say that he believes that things only are indicative of some imperfection in a person. Here he is saying that when you look closely at yourself you can see that the errors you have are only because of your own imperfection.

• There are two causes: "the faculty of knowing that is in me and faculty of choosing, this is, the free choice of the will, in other words, simultaneously on the intellect and will." so he is saying that knowing that there are errors in you that you have the choice of how they effect you. You can choose how to deal with the errors and how to fix them. Iam I right?

• He speaks of proving and not proving that God exist. He saids that if it was not for God that he would not have the choice of knowing and not knowing. He is greatful for what God has given to him and can not complain. Here I think he is saying that God has given him and all others the choice to do as they please and be who they want to be. But if there is no God then this choice would not exist to man. Again I think he is saying that if there is no God then nothing would be.

I have much more to say about this section and I will have to post it later....

mediations part 4 paragraphs 53-56

Ok, is it me or is he going in reverse here?
"Lately i have become accustomed to withdrawing my mind from the senses, and I have carefully taken note of the fact that vrey few things are truely perceieved regarding coporeal things, although a great many more things are known regrading human mind, and still many more things refering god."

I mean to me the first statement of mediations part 4 says it all. I really think now in this book from the discourse he will be focusing on more concrete things and that we shouldnt put as much stock in the mind. Am I wrong?

He then goes on to say it is so much easier to focus on the concrete things then things that are absract. Well duh! concrete things really don't need much brain power to know they exsist, unlike God.

I have a lot more on my section but I will have to continue later....

Discourse on Method Part 4

After rereading my section I come across something I thought was imporant but I do not understand what he means by it.
He talks about geometers and that geometers are the body or a space indfinitly extended in lenght breadth and hieght or depth.?He goes on to talk about a triangle. How it forms and how he is certain that "God who is this perfect being, is or exits, as demonstration in gemety could be. Is he saying that without God these things could not be? That what I got out of it however I am not sure.

Descartes Discourse on Methods Part 4/ Paragraphs 39-40

In the ending of part four I get confused when Descartes says that ideas that contain falsity is because we are not perfect. However, he said that God is all perfect and all truthful. In this section he also says that once we are certain about God and the Soul it is very easy to know that the dreams we have while asleep in no way make us doubt the truth we have while awake. I think he is saying that once you believe in the existence of God, you should not doubt your dreams, you should put them into consideration. Being asleep should not prevent its being true. He also said that we should never allow ourselves to be presuaded except by the evidence of our reason, which also confused me. I do not really understand what he meant.

Descartes Discourse on Methods Part 4/ Paragraphs 38-39

He also goes into dreams in this section and i think it gets a little confusing. He says that even though someone might have moral assurance about these things, he explains that it is unreasonable for anyone to deny that when you are sleeping you can imagine or see those things differently. I think he is saying that when you dream you might not see things the same way you see them when are you awake, but I'm not sure. He also says how do we not know that our thoughts when we dream are anymore false than our other thoughts when we are awake. I find this interesting because it seems true. I think we really can not tell if our dreams are false or not.

Descartes Discourse on Methods Part 4/ Paragraphs 38-39

In this part Descartes says that if you still do not believe in God after everything he has said then other things you believe in are not as certain like the body, stars, earth, etc. I think he is saying that God has created everything so you can not believe in those things unless you believe in the existence of God. He also says that even if people were to study this he does not believe that they can give any sufficent reason to remove the doubt unless they believed in the existence of God. I found this confusing because it seems like he is making it impossible to even prove that there is no God. I seems like he is not giving people a chance to prove it because if you were to try it would lead to believing in God. And he does not really explain why it would lead to the belief of God. He also says that anything we believe as being true is assured by the reason that God exists. Therefore, anything that is true is because of God and if you try to prove otherwise you would not be able to. It seems like he is giving you no other choice but to believe him and in God.

Descartes Discourse on Methods Part 4/4-6

In parts 4-6 he said how he thinks that there is something more perfect then him. Such as "the heavens, the earth, light, heat, and a thousand others," . He is saying that he is not perfect and that things are much more perfect in the world, so we should look around us and see what is around us. That God is perfect and created all the wonderful things for us to enjoy.

Later he takes about dreaming(this goes along with what Reachel said) that the things we dream are not also true and that we must recongize what is true and flase.

He also dealt with gemeters the depth and hight. believing that the triangle makes the world go around.

Descartes discourse on methods part 4/ 1-3

So in the fourth section in paragraphs 1-3 I believe decartes was really trying to talk about the opposite to be objective. I think he as trying to say that everyone makes mistakes so you cant beleive everything people say. He used geometry as an example and said there are alot of room for errors so basically be careful.

The next point I think he moved to was sometimes what you think isnt always true. He used a dream to explain. He goes on to say that I dream can sometimes give you an accurate account of what is going to happen next but more often its just imaginary, what your mind creates, and in that case it would not be true.

Then the "I think therefore I am" comes into play. He said he considers this the 1st principle of sociology because it is "unshakeable", or in other words no one really has been able to dispprove it yet.