Descartes Doubt And Crime - 1317 Words

Descartes Re-visited Doubt and Crime Kirsten Besheer, in â€Å"Descartes’ Doubts: Physiology and the First Meditation,† makes the caution that â€Å"many commentators dismiss the First Meditation with a scant summary usually involving key words like ‘dreams’ and ‘doubt.’ This being the case, I am not surprised that the rest of the Meditations have remained opaque to them†(55). What Besheer is warning against, specifically, is an uncritical examination of Descartes. For, as the years continue to distant the present from Descartes’ past, modern science and research are continually making that past seem increasingly archaic. The obvious errors and fallacies in Descartes’ ideas on the human mind and the functioning of the brain tend to overshadow the†¦show more content†¦The first move of this essay will be to situate Descartes. Besheer will be helpful in this, because she highlights the specific section where Descartes brings together bot h memory and reason. Descartes, cited through Besheer, writes: â€Å"Even if I have no power to avoid error in the first way just mentioned, which requires a clear perception of everything I have to deliberate on, I can avoid error in the second way, which depends merely on my remembering to withhold judgement on any occasion when the truth of the matter is not clear. Admittedly, I am aware of a certain weakness in me, in that I am unable to keep my attention fixed on one and the same item of knowledge at all times; but by attentive and repeated meditation I am nevertheless able to make myself remember it as often as the need arises, and thus get into the habit of avoiding error.† Within this quote there come together the main threads of Descartes importance, in relation to unconscious influence and crime: memory, that is, being conscious of past error allows one to lesson future error; and reason, knowing that you err, you can meditate upon the situation and correct that possible error. It is with these principal points that Gilbert et, al. and Richter et, al. find difficulty. Gilbert’s et, al.Show MoreRelatedJohn Locke s View On Identity963 Words   |  4 Pagesis John Locke acknowledged in society? Rene Descartes became accredited by what? Well, people knew these men for their philosophical views, their views on identity varied undoubtedly. For example, Descartes famous line I think, therefore I am alludes to the fact that he most certainly exists. On the other hand, Locke believes that if you committed a crime, but cannot recall your actions, then you should not serve time for your crime. Hence, Descartes perspective of identity contains the self, asRead MoreHitchcock/Descartes924 Words   |  4 PagesHitchcock/Descartes Am I really awake typing a paper for philosophy? Did I just watch the Hitchcock film Shadow of a Doubt or did the â€Å"not so supremely good God† plant a reel of thoughts in my head (Descartes16)? 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