Exploring Reality: Insights from Descartes' Meditations

The position paper addresses the concept of reality, traditionally defined by physical existence. It focuses on Rene Descartes' interpretations from the first and second meditations of his work, 'Meditations on First Philosophy.' Descartes, a pivotal figure in Western philosophy, examines skepticism to question previously held beliefs and reconstruct them based on certainty. The paper highlights Descartes' concept of representationalism, where reality is accessed indirectly through ideas formed by the mind, encompassing perceptions, memories, and more. This leads to the famous assertion 'Cogito Ergo Sum' (I think, therefore I am). However, Descartes' theories face objections, notably from Thomas Hobbes, who critiques the distinction between wakefulness and dreams, and the conflation of intellect with understanding. Despite such criticisms, including misquotations by Hobbes, Descartes defends his views, emphasizing that skepticism aids in preparing for intellectual inquiry without claiming novelty through dream theories. Ultimately, the paper concludes that Descartes' skepticism fosters a questioning mind about existence itself, defining reality as encompassing both present and past, beyond mere comprehensibility or observability.

Running head: POSITION PAPER ON REALITY
POSITION PAPER ON REALITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1POSITION PAPER ON REALITY
Reality, in the colloquial usage of the term, refers to the state of things that have a
physical existence. Philosophers over the years have tried to explain the concept in a varied
number of ways from different points of view. In the following paper is attempted a definition of
reality that is based on the first and second meditations of Descartes.
Rene Descartes, known as the father of modern Western philosophy, was a French
philosopher, scientist and mathematician. One of his most celebrated texts, Meditations on First
Philosophy published in the year 1641 in Latin, deals with the skeptic analysis of the term
reality. The philosopher then tries to establish the beliefs that can be taken to be known with
certainty. In the first of the six meditations, is found that the meditator discards all the beliefs
that he had faith on during his lifespan till that particular time. The person tries to rebuild his
beliefs, this time basing them on more definite arguments (Descartes 2013). In the second
meditation, Descartes presents the concept of representationalism. According to the philosopher,
a person can reach out to the world in an indirect manner through his own world of ideas, that
include all that the mind contains ranging from perceptions, memories and images to beliefs,
decisions, intentions and so on. The second meditation contains the famous theory of “Cogito
Ergo Sum” which translates into “I think therefore I am” and the wax argument (Hasdan 2017).
The theory of Descartes may be objected from a number of varied viewpoints. The theory
propounded by the philosopher faces objections regarding the issue of not being able to
distinguish between the state of wakefulness and dreams. According to another famous
philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, Descartes had identified thinking or intellect with the thing which
understands (Adams 2014). Hobbes argues that in the famous argument of Descartes, “cogito
ergo sum” which translates into “I think therefore I am [existent]”, the second part of the
proposition depends on the knowledge of the first proposition (Mori 2012).

2POSITION PAPER ON REALITY
It may be observed that Hobbes had been appearing incoherent in the arguments against
the theories of Descartes and is found misquoting them as well. Descartes responds in short
replies to all these objections in a rather rude or curt manner. Descartes had replied to the first
objection of Hobbes saying that the philosopher had never claimed to introduce novelties with
the use of the dream theories, instead it was used to help prepare the minds of the readers for the
study of intellectual things. The philosopher, in a response to Hobbes’s second objection by
saying that he had not mentioned the act of understanding to be similar to the thing which
understands.
In lieu of the discussion, it may be said that Descartes theory of skepticism leads to
formation of a mind that questions everything inclusive of its own existence. Reality is inclusive
of both the present and the past and does not depend on the comprehensibility and observability
of the matter. It does not take into consideration the states in which things might have been
imagined or appeared.

3POSITION PAPER ON REALITY
References
Descartes, R., 2013. Meditations on first philosophy. Broadview Press.
Hasdan, L.E., 2017. compos mentis. compos mentis, p.35.
Adams, M.P., 2014. The wax and the mechanical mind: Reexamining Hobbes's objections to
Descartes's Meditations. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 22(3), pp.403-424.
Mori, G., 2012. Hobbes, Descartes, and ideas: A secret debate. Journal of the History of
Philosophy, 50(2), pp.197-212.