Arguing with Descartes Meditation 1 Foundationalism No justification Scientific knowledge Methodology ‘Basket of apples’ incoherent Empiricism Counterfeit coins Dreaming argument - simples - evil demon - truth

Meditation 2 Cogito Still requires prior knowledge (Kant) Misconception of ‘knowledge’ (Wittgenstein) Suppressed premise in syllogism – but no Unjustified claim to ‘I’ (self) Substance ‘properties’ never separated ‘substance-less’ properties

Meditation 2 Clarity of mind Doubtfulness of conscious thoughts Are consciousness and thoughts separate (Hobbes)? Wax Argument Objects are never ‘pure extension’ (Quinton) Mind not defined/explained positively (Gassendi) - mind unique - mind not mechanistic

Meditation 3 Clear and distinct perception Criterion not self-evident Self-evidence wholly subjective Directness not uniform or unchanging Criterion too narrow

Meditation 3 Trademark argument No knowledge of ex nihilo No knowledge of hierarchy of intentional reality Knowledge of perfection inadequate Implausibility of causation of ‘idea’/’real’ Circular argument Hence flawed - memory

Meditation 4 Making judgements Problems of clear and distinct perception Impossibility of Descartes’ method Problem with knowledge of consciousness

Meditation 5 Essence of material things A priori knowledge (not from senses, not dependent on his will) Ontological argument Defining existence as a property - God is special Illegitimacy of comparison (‘idea’/’real’)

Meditation 6 Reliability of senses Necessity of God Dualism Exceptions to Leibniz’ law (med 2) Brain-mind interdependence (Gassendi) - property dualism Involvement of clear and distinct perception Extension not essentially not a part of mind (Arnauld) - cannot be knowable Uncertainty of particularity (one-to-one plus permanence) Interaction of mind/body - oneness of these