Descartes Argument Against Insanity

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Doris Jean-Charles Argument Analysis 3 Source: Descartes, René. "Meditations." Classics of Western Philosophy. Ed. Steven Cahn. Indianapolis, IN: Hacket Pub., 2006. Descartes Argument against the insanity premise that if I believe the same thing as an insane person, I would be insane. Premise 1: In the past, I have dreamt and not thought I was dreaming at the time. Descartes says, “…lunatics whose brain is so troubled and befogged by the black vapors of the bile that they continually affirm that they are kings while they are paupers, that they are clothed in gold and purple while they are naked...” This means: That many times when we are dreaming, our senses have the ability of tricking us into thinking that we are in fact not experiencing a dream rather than our reality. Premise 2: It is possible that I am dreaming now. Descartes expresses that the reliability of our sensory knowledge is compromised by the way some people perceive themselves. Descartes explains that if when we dream we do not know that we are dreaming, we may be dreaming at this very moment.…show more content…
Descartes depiction of Modus Ponens is shown through this example; if in the past I have dreamt without realizing that I was dreaming, it is so that I can doubt my senses without being insane. Descartes begins his argument with a general premise explaining that usually when one dreams, one is not aware of this fact. He zooms in on this premise explaining that our senses have the ability of deceiving us into believing something other than what reality is. Descartes then explores the possibility that if we do not know when we are dreaming, we may be dreaming now. With this expression, Descartes explains that doubting our senses at this point would prove healthy and not
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