DQ8

Class Responses and Instructor Comments

>From Avrohom:

Maybe this means that descartes knows himself, only knowing that there is a "himself". This he knows bec he is a thinking thing. But as for the things he thinks, who can vouch for them?

>rm says: So, if he's only a thinking thing, could he learn about himself through the senses? What he learns without the help of the senses may come into question, as you imply, just as things learned with the help of the senses. Remember, though, that the senses can only access physical objects.

Descartes Reading Guide 8. "Thus I realize that none of what I can grasp by means of the imagination pertains to this knowledge that I have of myself." (66) Why not? What does this mean for Descartes’ knowledge of himself?		Back to Descartes Reading Guide Back to Philosophy 101 Home Next Question
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