Reflection on Meditations on First Philosophy: 2nd Meditation

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René Descartes was the famous mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. His major philosophical work “Meditations on first philosophy” is very mathematics inclined metaphysics, which was written in specific style that needs reader to reflect on it. This essay will be about my reflection on the second meditation from this work. Firstly, I will write the reflection and then will conclude by the giving context to it. As in ancient time Archimedes seek to find at least one immovable, stable point in order to move the entire world, Descartes was looking to find at least one thing in which he could be certain about. So that he began to assume that everything in this world is false and he cannot be sure about it; he is being deceived and actually he did not have any senses and memory. No one can be certain about even unchangeable things such as shapes, places and extension, hence they always change and being false. So what is true in that world? Descartes suggests that the only thing that is true in that world is the fact that nothing is true and certain. However, if there is nothing certain in the world, can there be something that is not concerned even by the slightest occasion of doubt? Descartes assumes that if it is not God, who sends him these ideas, it could be himself. Earlier he persuaded himself that nothing exist in this world so that his body and senses are also do not exist, so he is full of doubt whether he exists without his body and senses or not. After that he comes to conclusion that if he could persuade himself that there is no his body, no his senses, no sky above him, it does not mean that He (I in the view of Descartes) does not exist as well. Since he has persuaded Himself, this He is staying constant in every stage of the question and argument, unchanged and stable. This He is the firm Archimedean point for Descartes from which he can begin
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