Key terms
Meditation- a thought processes intended to understand abstract ideas by Rene Descartes
Chimeras- By this Descartes intends to mean that all what he thought about his existence is mythical and not true, in fact, it does not even exist.
Conclusion/central argument
Even though Descartes presumes that all what he knew about his existence was a creation of his deceptive mind and actually false and not just doubtful, at least one belief much be true. And this is the truth that as long as he is thinking, as long as he is being deceived, then he must exist, at least to allow for thinking and or deception ("I am, I exist" [ego sum, ego existo].
Premises
In order to support his argument on existence, Descartes developed four premises that would be used to prove his existence. To begin with, Descartes sought to discard all his believes about existence, and then tried to prove his existence. He did this by assuming that nothing exists, even himself, and that his mind had always deceived him about such existence. He then developed the below premises to prove that even if nothing really existed, at least something existed to be deceived, and that was him or in the least, his mind.
1) If I am not being deceived, then I exist.
(2) If I am being deceived, then I exist.
(3) So, if I am being deceived or not being deceived, then I exist.
(4) I am either being deceived or not being deceived.
––––> I exist.
Evidence
This argument is rather valid, although its soundness or otherwise is debatable. The fourth premise is a logical conclusion of the first three premises. While premises 1 and three are true, the premise number two appears to be contagious and actually hypothetical. ‘If I am being deceived THEN I exist’, may not be true, as it depends on whether one is being deceived. In fact, the reverse argument would be that if ‘I am not being deceived, and then I do not exist’.
However, according to Descartes, the second remise is perfectly valid. This is because,
(1) If I am being deceived, then I am thinking.
(2) If I am thinking, then I exist.
–––> If I am being deceived, then I exist,
This is a valid argument. Accordingly, for one to be deceived then they must be thinking and if they are thinking then they must exist. This contains the famous quote "I am thinking, therefore I am" (cogito, ergo sum, "ego cogito, ergo sum, sive existo" ("I am thinking, therefore I am, or exist")
Assumptions
In trying to explain existence, Descartes assumes that thoughts, or rather thinking can only be generated by an existing being, a mind and that such a mind must be owned by an existing being. One Mark Rowland’s once argued that ‘Perhaps there are just thoughts, and no person to whom the thoughts attach." Perhaps, that is, there are 'ownerless' thoughts’ (http://home.wlu.edu/~mahonj/Descartes.Meditation2.htm) This argument can however be counter argued that it’s not possible for thoughts to exist without minds in this argument; thoughts are mind actions and therefore would not exist without the mind.
Descartes also makes an assumption that that thought that is generated by a mind is actually his thought from his mind, and therefore, he exists.
(1) If I am not being deceived, then I exist.
(2) If I am being deceived, then I exist.
(3) So, if I am either being deceived or not being deceived, then I exist.
(4) I am either being deceived or not being deceived.
––––> I exist.
Arguments for premise 2
(a) If I am being deceived, then I am thinking (otherwise how would I know that I am being deceived)
(b) If I am thinking, then I exist (It’s not possible for me to be thinking unless I exist).
5) If I am thinking, then a thought exists
6 )If a thought exists, then I exist.
7) A thought exists, therefore, I also exist
8) If a thought exists, then a mind exists.
9) A thought exists.
———>A mind exists.
10) The thought that exists is a thought of my mind.
———> My mind exists.
11) My mind exists (or I exist) because my thoughts exist.
Summary of arguments
Rene Descartes was famous for his work in determining his own existence by use of meditation. His thought process as explained above is a complex analysis of his meditation. Descartes observes that even though from his first meditation nothing existed, and whatever he thought to exist was a creation of his deceptive mind, an analysis of his premises goes a long way in proving his existence, or at least the existence of his mind.
He explains that as long as he is being deceived, then he must exist for him to be deceived. Additionally, even if he is not being deceived, he must also exist since this proves that he actually existed in the first place. He finally concludes that his mind exists, or he exists since his thoughts exist.
References
Rene Descartes. Second meditation: The nature of the human mind, and how it is better known than the body pp. 16-23 Adapted from: http://home.wlu.edu/~mahonj/Descartes.Meditation2.htm
