Meditation V

Material Essence

1. What leads Descartes to conclude that it is at least theoretically possible that the physical world exists? (1 mark) - Answer
2. What two possible explanations for the presence of these ideas does Descartes reject? Why? (4 marks) - Answer
3. Does the fact that Descartes has never experienced certain ideas mean that they cannot have come from experience? (1 mark) - Answer

Examining the ideas of physical objects which he finds in his mind, he realises that some of them contain clear and distinct knowledge (primary qualities) – such as geometrical and mathematical principles. (1 mark) So, whilst these ideas do not prove that such a world exists, they at least suggest that it is a coherent possibility. Firstly, he rejects the idea that he himself is responsible for such ideas. (1 mark) This is because the ideas contain knowledge that he himself could not have foreseen if he were making them up – such as truths about mathematics and geometry which only become apparent after further thought and investigation. (1 mark) Secondly, he rejects the possibility that these ideas have come to him through experience (1 mark), because he has certain concepts (such as the idea of a 10,000-sided shape) which he has never experienced. (4 marks) Not necessarily. As regards the example Descartes gives, it is perfectly possible to assume that we get the idea of a many-sided shape from experience, and that we then use this to form the idea of shapes that we have not – or cannot – experience. (1 mark) So, in this sense, Descartes’s example here is a weak one. The Ontological Argument

1. Briefly stated, what is the Ontological Argument? (2 marks) - Answer
2. State the three objections that Descartes’s anticipates, together with his replies. (6 marks) - Answer
3. Is existence a necessary property of the idea of God? List two criticisms. (2 marks) - Answer

I have an idea of God; such a being must exist eternally; for such a being not to exist would mean that this being was not God (a contradiction in terms); therefore, such a being must exist. The three imagined objections and Descartes’s replies are:

1st Objection: Simply because we have the idea of God does not mean that He exists. (1 mark) 1st Reply: If God did not exist, then that would be an imperfection in the idea of God (a contradiction). (1 mark)

2nd Objection: We can imagine a horse with wings, but that does not mean that there is such a thing as a winged horse; so, we can imagine a being that necessarily exists, that does not mean that one does. (1 mark) 2nd Reply: Existence is a necessary property of the idea of God; wings are not an essential property of horses. (1 mark)

3rd Objection: A necessarily existing being would in fact exist, but who is to say that such an idea is coherent in the first place? (1 mark) 3rd Reply: Whenever I think of the idea of a perfect and all-powerful being, then I am naturally led to the idea of God. (1 mark) Despite Descartes’s responses to the imagined objections, there does remain a feeling that he is trying to define something into existence. Why, we might argue, couldn’t we think up any idea and simply say that it has the property of ‘necessary existence’? (1 mark) Furthermore, Immanuel Kant has pointed out that, strictly speaking, existence is not a property of anything: ideas and things possess properties, and things either exist or are merely ideas. Therefore, existence is not itself a further property of something, but rather a judgement about what status properties have. (1 mark)

How Did You Do?

0-6: A Winged Horse. The objections and replies can be quite tricky to get your head around. Go back and read over the summaries.

7-13: Mountains And Valleys. Generally good, but there are obviously some areas that you need to work on.

14-16: A Necessarily Existing Being. Great work, once again. You’re definitely cheating.

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