Descartes seems to be taking me back to high school. In high school, when I learned about Descartes’, “I think therefore I am,” I thought he was kind of odd. “Of course you exist!” I thought. After digging deep into his philosophy in college I think I have changed my mind. You really have to try hard and follow his logic to really understand why his concept is important. In high school I brushed over him looking at face value, and moved on. He was just another “crazy philosopher” But truly, unknowingly, I had some very similar thoughts.
An example of similar thoughts was my singing voice. I have always loved singing, and I believe that I can sing. However, I cannot even count the times that I have doubted I can carry a tune at all. When people told me that I sing well, I would wonder if they were just saying that to be nice. I can hear myself. “My senses tell me I sound right, but what if I’m hearing wrong?” I thought. “What if my senses are fooling me?” “What if I’m really tune-deaf?”
A couple of years ago I had just learned about how the eye works. I walked through our back yard and looked up at a pine tree. It looked so beautiful, with its branches blowing in the wind. I thought, “Am I really seeing this?” Is the tree really green? If our eyes worked differently what color would it be? Does God see it the same way I do?
Further, I began to think. Am I really here? Where am I? Is this a dream? Now, at this point you are probably thinking, I am crazy,(I thought I was too) but just follow me. You see, Descartes questioned if he was what he thought, or if everything he perceived was really his imagination, “But how could I deny that I possess these hands and this body and withal escape being classed with persons in a state of insanity…. To cause them pertinaciously to assert that they are monarchs when they are in the greatest poverty; or clothed in gold and purple when destitute of covering” (Meditation I, paragraph four). “Am I just part of a made up world?”(Truman show) I thought. Why was I thinking these thoughts? I do not know. I thought it was bizarre.
You see, Descartes’ point was the fact that whatever is doubted, and tested becomes tried and true. Truly, Descartes’ concept was not totally new. Socrates, long before Descartes, urged the people of Greece to be critical of everything. If you’ve been in Mashburn’s philosophy class you will understand the phrase, “Don’t drink the cool aid!” You see, Descartes is trying to prevent you from drinking poisonous cool aid! No, I believe there is a limit to doubt, but doubt is not always harmful. I’m beginning to believe that doubt can be wholesome. Descartes said in meditation one, paragraph one, “…And from that time I was convinced if the necessity of undertaking once in my life to rid myself of all the opinions I had adopted, and of commencing anew the work of building from the foundation, if I desired to establish a firm and abiding superstructure…” If we are able to rebuild our foundations to be stronger, why wouldn’t we? Philosophy challenges us to be honest with our prejudice and doubt everything we’ve ever known in order to lay a better foundation for ourselves.
Oh dear, I think I’m becoming a “crazy philosopher”.
Anna Rhodes
P.S. I commented on Amy Smith's post.
I really liked the way you explained Descartes' writing. I was somewhat confused why he was going so far to doubt in his own physical being, but you helped explain it and make it more clear to me. So was Descartes saying because people may doubt in God, He is tested and proved to be true?
ReplyDeleteYou know Jannah, that's a good question. I didn't really think about it that way. I was focusing on a specific aspect of the text, but it's always good to look at the bigger picture and to try to grasp the main point of the text. I do not think it's necessarily because people doubt God. My point is that, If you doubt concepts you are testing them to be true. A point you can draw form Descartes is that our doubts about God, test our faith, and help us to see Him more, by His grace and leading in our life.
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