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Single Idea 1400

[filed under theme 16. Persons / A. Concept of a Person / 1. Existence of Persons ]

Full Idea

Because the entire span of one's life can be divided into countless parts, each one wholly independent of the rest, it does not follow from the fact that I existed a short time ago that I exist now, unless some cause creates and preserves me each moment.

Gist of Idea

Some cause must unite the separate temporal sections of a person

Source

René Descartes (Meditations [1641], §3.49)

Book Ref

Descartes,René: 'Discourse on Method/The Meditations', ed/tr. Sutcliffe,F.E. [Penguin 1968], p.127

A Reaction

How could I 'prove' that this computer is the same computer as it was five minutes ago, even after I have accepted the straightforward existence of the computer? This is the Enlightenment Project, the mad desire to prove absolutely everything.

The 228 ideas from René Descartes

16634 I can't be unaware of anything which is in me [Descartes]
3634 We can't prove a first cause from our inability to grasp infinity [Descartes]
3635 Essence must be known before we discuss existence [Descartes]
3622 The Cogito is not a syllogism but a self-evident intuition [Descartes]
3643 The concept of mind excludes body, and vice versa [Descartes]
3626 Knowing the attributes is enough to reveal a substance [Descartes]
3630 Our thinking about external things doesn't disprove the existence of innate ideas [Descartes]
3631 A blind man may still contain the idea of colour [Descartes]
3639 Necessary existence is a property which is uniquely part of God's essence [Descartes]
3640 Possible existence is a perfection in the idea of a triangle [Descartes]
3637 Ideas in God's mind only have value if he makes it so [Descartes]
3621 Only judgement decides which of our senses are reliable [Descartes]
3644 Two things being joined together doesn't prove they are the same [Descartes]
4298 All items of possible human knowledge are interconnected, and can be reached by inference [Descartes]
24018 One truth leads us to another [Descartes]
24019 If we accept mere probabilities as true we undermine our existing knowledge [Descartes]
24020 We all see intuitively that we exist, where intuition is attentive, clear and distinct rational understanding [Descartes]
24022 Our souls possess divine seeds of knowledge, which can bear spontaneous fruit [Descartes]
24021 The method starts with clear intuitions, followed by a process of deduction [Descartes]
24023 All the sciences searching for order and measure are related to mathematics [Descartes]
24024 The secret of the method is to recognise which thing in a series is the simplest [Descartes]
24025 Clear and distinct truths must be known all at once (unlike deductions) [Descartes]
24031 When Socrates doubts, he know he doubts, and that truth is possible [Descartes]
24026 Our four knowledge faculties are intelligence, imagination, the senses, and memory [Descartes]
24027 Nerves and movement originate in the brain, where imagination moves them [Descartes]
24032 Clever scholars can obscure things which are obvious even to peasants [Descartes]
24029 Among the simples are the graspable negations, such as rest and instants [Descartes]
24030 3+4=7 is necessary because we cannot conceive of seven without including three and four [Descartes]
24028 The force by which we know things is spiritual, and quite distinct from the body [Descartes]
24033 Most scholastic disputes concern words, where agreeing on meanings would settle them [Descartes]
24035 Unity is something shared by many things, so in that respect they are equals [Descartes]
24036 I can only see the proportion of two to three if there is a common measure - their unity [Descartes]
24034 If someone had only seen the basic colours, they could deduce the others from resemblance [Descartes]
9807 In pursuing truth, anything less certain than mathematics is a waste of time [Descartes]
3600 Slow and accurate thought makes the greatest progress [Descartes]
3601 Most things in human life seem vain and useless [Descartes]
1581 Greeks elevate virtues enormously, but never explain them [Descartes]
3602 Almost every daft idea has been expressed by some philosopher [Descartes]
3603 Methodical thinking is cautious, analytical, systematic, and panoramic [Descartes, by PG]
3604 When rebuilding a house, one needs alternative lodgings [Descartes]
1583 In morals Descartes accepts the conventional, but rejects it in epistemology [Roochnik on Descartes]
3605 We can believe a thing without knowing we believe it [Descartes]
3606 I was searching for reliable rock under the shifting sand [Descartes]
3607 In thinking everything else false, my own existence remains totally certain [Descartes]
3608 I can deny my body and the world, but not my own existence [Descartes]
3609 I am a thinking substance, which doesn't need a place or material support [Descartes]
3610 Truth is clear and distinct conception - of which it is hard to be sure [Descartes]
3611 Understanding, rather than imagination or senses, gives knowledge [Descartes]
3612 Clear and distinct conceptions are true because a perfect God exists [Descartes]
3614 A machine could speak in response to physical stimulus, but not hold a conversation [Descartes]
3613 Reason is universal in its responses, but a physical machine is constrained by its organs [Descartes]
3615 Little reason is needed to speak, so animals have no reason at all [Descartes]
3616 The soul must unite with the body to have appetites and sensations [Descartes]
3617 I aim to find the principles and causes of everything, using the seeds within my mind [Descartes]
3618 Only experiments can settle disagreements between rival explanations [Descartes]
16686 God has established laws throughout nature, and implanted ideas of them within us [Descartes]
16635 Incorporeal substances are powers or forces [Descartes, by Pasnau]
16684 Impenetrability only belongs to the essence of extension [Descartes]
4017 Descartes created the modern view of rationality, as an internal feature instead of an external vision [Descartes, by Taylor,C]
6153 Interaction between mental and physical seems to violate the principle of conservation of energy [Rowlands on Descartes]
17865 Descartes gives an essence by an encapsulating formula [Descartes, by Almog]
1569 Descartes impoverished the classical idea of logos, and it no longer covered human experience [Roochnik on Descartes]
2857 Since Plato all philosophers have followed the herd, except Descartes, stuck in superficial reason [Nietzsche on Descartes]
7504 Modern science comes from Descartes' view that knowledge doesn't need moral purity [Descartes, by Foucault]
6490 For Descartes, objects have one primary quality, which is geometrical [Descartes, by Robinson,H]
6929 Modern philosophy set the self-conscious ego in place of God [Descartes, by Feuerbach]
16631 If we remove surface qualities from wax, we have an extended, flexible, changeable thing [Descartes]
10054 Arithmetic and geometry achieve some certainty without worrying about existence [Descartes]
1585 Descartes tried to model reason on maths instead of 'logos' [Roochnik on Descartes]
6347 Descartes can't begin again, because sceptics doubt cognitive processes as well as beliefs [Pollock/Cruz on Descartes]
2247 To achieve good science we must rebuild from the foundations [Descartes]
1582 Labelling slightly doubtful things as false is irrational [Roochnik on Descartes]
2249 It is prudent never to trust your senses if they have deceived you even once [Descartes]
2248 Reason says don't assent to uncertain principles, just as much as totally false ones [Descartes]
3620 We correct sense errors with other senses, not intellect [Mersenne on Descartes]
3619 The senses can only report, so perception errors are in the judgment [Gassendi on Descartes]
2252 Surely maths is true even if I am dreaming? [Descartes]
2251 Even if my body and objects are imaginary, there may be simpler things which are true [Descartes]
2253 God may have created nothing, but made his creation appear to me as it does now [Descartes]
2254 To achieve full scepticism, I imagine a devil who deceives me about the external world and my own body and senses [Descartes]
3850 We discovers others as well as ourselves in the Cogito [Sartre on Descartes]
3849 "I think therefore I am" is the absolute truth of consciousness [Sartre on Descartes]
2257 I myself could be the author of all these self-delusions [Descartes]
2255 Only one certainty is needed for progress (like a lever's fulcrum) [Descartes]
2256 Maybe there is only one certain fact, which is that nothing is certain [Descartes]
2258 I must even exist if I am being deceived by something [Descartes]
2259 "I am, I exist" is necessarily true every time I utter it or conceive it in my mind [Descartes]
3160 The Cogito is a transcendental argument, not a piece of a priori knowledge [Rey on Descartes]
1117 The Cogito proves subjective experience is basic, but makes false claims about the Self [Russell on Descartes]
5360 The thing which experiences may be momentary, and change with the next experience [Russell on Descartes]
2870 'I think' assumes I exist, that thinking is known and caused, and that I am doing it [Nietzsche on Descartes]
5188 A thought doesn't imply other thoughts, or enough thoughts to make up a self [Ayer on Descartes]
3623 The Cogito only works if you already understand what thought and existence are [Mersenne on Descartes]
3624 That I perform an activity (thinking) doesn't prove what type of thing I am [Hobbes on Descartes]
3120 Autistic children seem to use the 'I' concept without seeing themselves as thinkers [Segal on Descartes]
4526 The Cogito assumes a priori the existence of substance, when actually it is a grammatical custom [Nietzsche on Descartes]
5579 How can we infer that all thinking involves self-consciousness, just from my own case? [Kant on Descartes]
5580 My self is not an inference from 'I think', but a presupposition of it [Kant on Descartes]
5587 We cannot give any information a priori about the nature of the 'thing that thinks' [Kant on Descartes]
5588 The fact that I am a subject is not enough evidence to show that I am a substantial object [Kant on Descartes]
1369 It is a precondition of the use of the word 'I' that I exist [Ayer on Descartes]
2873 Maybe 'I' am not the thinker, but something produced by thought [Nietzsche on Descartes]
2260 If I don't think, there is no reason to think that I exist [Descartes]
3625 The 'thinking thing' may be the physical basis of the mind [Hobbes on Descartes]
2261 My perceiving of things may be false, but my seeming to perceive them cannot be false [Descartes]
2263 The wax is not perceived by the senses, but by the mind alone [Descartes]
3628 Substance cannot be conceived or explained to others [Gassendi on Descartes]
3627 Dogs can make the same judgements as us about variable things [Gassendi on Descartes]
2264 We don't 'see' men in heavy clothes, we judge them to be men [Descartes]
2265 We perceive objects by intellect, not by senses or imagination [Descartes]
2266 My general rule is that everything that I perceive clearly and distinctly is true [Descartes]
4301 Someone may think a thing is 'clear and distinct', but be wrong [Leibniz on Descartes]
5686 In some thoughts I grasp a subject, but also I will or fear or affirm or deny it [Descartes]
5685 True ideas are images, such as of a man, a chimera, or God [Descartes]
3629 All ideas are adventitious, and come from the senses [Gassendi on Descartes]
2268 One idea leads to another, but there must be an initial idea that contains the reality of all the others [Descartes]
2430 I can learn the concepts of duration and number just from observing my own thoughts [Descartes]
2269 God the creator is an intelligent, infinite, powerful substance [Descartes]
2272 There must be at least as much in the cause as there is in the effect [Descartes]
1400 Some cause must unite the separate temporal sections of a person [Descartes]
2274 The idea of God in my mind is like the mark a craftsman puts on his work [Descartes]
2273 The ideas of God and of my self are innate in me [Descartes]
2275 It is self-evident that deception is a natural defect, so God could not be a deceiver [Descartes]
2276 The mind is a non-extended thing which thinks [Descartes]
2277 Since God does not wish to deceive me, my judgement won't make errors if I use it properly [Descartes]
2278 Error arises because my faculty for judging truth is not infinite [Descartes]
2281 If we ask whether God's works are perfect, we must not take a narrow viewpoint, but look at the universe as a whole [Descartes]
2280 Many causes are quite baffling, so it is absurd to deduce causes from final purposes [Descartes]
2282 My capacity to make choices with my free will extends as far as any faculty ever could [Descartes]
2283 Our 'will' just consists of the feeling that when we are motivated to do something, there are no external pressures [Descartes]
2284 I make errors because my will extends beyond my understanding [Descartes]
3636 God didn't give us good judgement even about our own lives [Gassendi on Descartes]
2285 I can think of innumerable shapes I have never experienced [Descartes]
2279 A triangle has a separate non-invented nature, shown by my ability to prove facts about it [Descartes]
2286 The idea of a supremely perfect being is within me, like the basic concepts of mathematics [Descartes]
3632 We mustn't worship God as an image because we have no idea of him [Hobbes on Descartes]
3633 We can never conceive of an infinite being [Gassendi on Descartes]
2287 Existence and God's essence are inseparable, like a valley and a mountain, or a triangle and its properties [Descartes]
2288 I cannot think of a supremely perfect being without the supreme perfection of existence [Descartes]
3638 Existence is not a perfection; it is what makes perfection possible [Gassendi on Descartes]
5036 Descartes cannot assume that a most perfect being exists without contradictions [Leibniz on Descartes]
2289 Nothing apart from God could have essential existence, and such a being must be unique and eternal [Descartes]
2290 Once it is clear that there is a God who is no deceiver, I conclude that clear and distinct perceptions must be true [Descartes]
3641 It is circular to make truth depend on believing God's existence is true [Arnauld on Descartes]
4524 Descartes is right that in the Christian view only God can guarantee the reliability of senses [Nietzsche on Descartes]
1399 Imagination and sensation are non-essential to mind [Descartes]
2294 I can only sense an object if it is present, and can't fail to sense it when it is [Descartes]
2295 Why does pain make us sad? [Descartes]
2296 If pain is felt in a lost limb, I cannot be certain that a felt pain exists in my real limbs [Descartes]
3642 Pythagoras' Theorem doesn't cease to be part of the essence of triangles just because we doubt it [Arnauld on Descartes]
2297 If I can separate two things in my understanding, then God can separate them in reality [Descartes]
2552 Knowing different aspects of brain/mind doesn't make them different [Rorty on Descartes]
4305 Descartes gives no clear criterion for individuating mental substances [Cottingham on Descartes]
1401 Since I only observe myself to be thinking, I conclude that that is my essence [Descartes]
2299 I can exist without imagination and sensing, but they can't exist without me [Descartes]
2298 Mind is not extended, unlike the body [Descartes]
3423 Descartes is a substance AND property dualist [Descartes, by Kim]
4861 Does Descartes have a clear conception of how mind unites with body? [Spinoza on Descartes]
2301 We know by thought that what is done cannot be undone [Descartes]
4862 Can the pineal gland be moved more slowly or quickly by the mind than by animal spirits? [Spinoza on Descartes]
2303 The mind is utterly indivisible [Descartes]
2302 Faculties of the mind aren't parts, as one mind uses them [Descartes]
2305 Waking actions are joined by memory to all our other actions, unlike actions of which we dream [Descartes]
3151 Descartes put thought at the centre of the mind problem, but we put sensation [Rey on Descartes]
13923 Descartes' claim to know his existence before his essence is misleading or absurd [Descartes, by Lowe]
6930 Modern self-consciousness is a doubtful abstraction; only senses and feelings are certain [Feuerbach on Descartes]
6914 Descartes transformed 'God is thinkable, so he exists' into 'I think, so I exist' [Descartes, by Feuerbach]
4641 In the Meditations version of the Cogito he says "I am; I exist", which avoids presenting it as an argument [Descartes, by Baggini /Fosl]
6907 For Descartes a person's essence is the mind because objects are perceived by mind, not senses [Descartes, by Feuerbach]
21800 Descartes mentions many cognitive faculties, but reduces them to will and intellect [Descartes, by Schmid]
6540 Even Descartes may concede that mental supervenes on neuroanatomical [Lycan on Descartes]
20190 Belief is not an intellectual state or act, because propositions are affirmed or denied by the will [Descartes, by Zagzebski]
7733 Superman's strength is indubitable, Clark Kent's is doubtful, so they are not the same? [Maslin on Descartes]
2601 Qualia must be innate, because physical motions do not contain them [Descartes]
2600 The mind's innate ideas are part of its capacity for thought [Descartes]
2602 What experience could prove 'If a=c and b=c then a=b'? [Descartes]
4016 Descartes makes strength of will the central virtue [Descartes, by Taylor,C]
4015 For Descartes passions are God-given preservers of the mind-body union [Descartes, by Taylor,C]
4313 Are there a few primary passions (say, joy, sadness and desire)? [Descartes, by Cottingham]
3654 The pineal gland links soul to body, and unites the two symmetrical sides of the body [Descartes, by PG]
20037 Merely willing to walk leads to our walking [Descartes]
23989 There are six primitive passions: wonder, love, hatred, desire, joy and sadness [Descartes, by Goldie]
16763 We don't die because the soul departs; the soul departs because the organs cease functioning [Descartes]
21962 Metaphysics is the roots of the tree of science [Descartes]
3657 Understanding, not the senses, gives certainty [Descartes]
3659 I know the truth that God exists and is the author of truth [Descartes]
3660 Atheism arises from empiricism, because God is intangible [Descartes]
3656 The greatest good for a state is true philosophers [Descartes]
5004 We can know basic Principles without further knowledge, but not the other way round [Descartes]
3658 Total doubt can't include your existence while doubting [Descartes]
12730 We will not try to understand natural or divine ends, or final causes [Descartes]
16601 Matter is not hard, heavy or coloured, but merely extended in space [Descartes]
15987 Physics only needs geometry or abstract mathematics, which can explain and demonstrate everything [Descartes]
5005 I think, therefore I am, because for a thinking thing to not exist is a contradiction [Descartes]
5006 'Thought' is all our conscious awareness, including feeling as well as understanding [Descartes]
5007 Most errors of judgement result from an inaccurate perception of the facts [Descartes]
5008 The greatest perfection of man is to act by free will, and thus merit praise or blame [Descartes]
5009 We do not praise the acts of an efficient automaton, as their acts are necessary [Descartes]
5010 Our free will is so self-evident to us that it must be a basic innate idea [Descartes]
5011 There are two ultimate classes of existence: thinking substance and extended substance [Descartes]
5012 'Nothing comes from nothing' is an eternal truth found within the mind [Descartes]
5013 A substance needs nothing else in order to exist [Descartes]
16630 If we perceive an attribute, we infer the existence of some substance [Descartes]
16633 A substance has one principal property which is its nature and essence [Descartes]
5014 We can understand thinking occuring without imagination or sensation [Descartes]
5016 Five universals: genus, species, difference, property, accident [Descartes]
5015 A universal is a single idea applied to individual things that are similar to one another [Descartes]
5017 In thinking we shut ourselves off from other substances, showing our identity and separateness [Descartes]
5018 Even if tightly united, mind and body are different, as God could separate them [Descartes]
16744 All powers can be explained by obvious features like size, shape and motion of matter [Descartes]
22593 Our sensation of light may not be the same as what produces the sensation [Descartes]
20964 Descartes said there was conservation of 'quantity of motion' [Descartes, by Papineau]
16569 The Hot, Cold, Wet and Dry of the philosophers need themselves to be explained [Descartes]
21963 It is possible that an omnipotent God might make one and two fail to equal three [Descartes]
3652 I can't prove the soul is indestructible, only that it is separate from the mortal body [Descartes]
3653 My Meditations are the complete foundation of my physics [Descartes]
4736 Truth is such a transcendentally clear notion that it cannot be further defined [Descartes]
3789 The more reasons that compel me, the freer I am [Descartes]
12251 Substantial forms are not understood, and explain nothing [Descartes]
16772 An angelic mind would not experience pain, even when connected to a human body [Descartes, by Pasnau]
16712 Atheism is an atrocious and intolerable crime in any country [Descartes]
19676 Nature is devoid of thought [Descartes, by Meillassoux]
6518 Matter can't just be Descartes's geometry, because a filler of the spaces is needed [Robinson,H on Descartes]
6553 Descartes discussed the interaction problem, and compared it with gravity [Descartes, by Lycan]
4310 We have inner awareness of our freedom [Descartes]
16774 Descartes thinks distinguishing substances from aggregates is pointless [Descartes, by Pasnau]
13445 Descartes showed a one-one order-preserving match between points on a line and the real numbers [Descartes, by Hart,WD]
7400 Descartes said images can refer to objects without resembling them (as words do) [Descartes, by Tuck]