Term Paper on "Descartes and the Life of the Mind"

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Descartes and the Life of the Mind: In Support of "I think, therefore I am"

The legitimacy of the argument, "I think, therefore I am" is indeed one of the first indubitable truths as presented in Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy." The fundamental point of this argument is the notion that beingness and existence are directly connected to thought and being able to have the cognizance of the thought process being separate from the body. As this paper will demonstrate, it doesn't even matter if these thoughts are true or false or if they occur in a dream state or a real one, they are often highly complex, and they represent an autonomy of the human being from his environment, a sense of distinction and a life of the mind. These ideas are at the crux of the foundational support for "I think, therefore I am."

One of the first points to support this conclusion is simply presented in the acknowledgment that the human being goes through a range of entirely complex thought processes all of which contribute to the multi-faceted notion of existence. "Well, then, what am I? A thing that thinks. What is that? A thing that doubts, understands, af-rms, denies, wants, refuses, and also imagines and senses" (Descartes, 5). This simple assertion truly demonstrates the complexity of the human mind: doubting something involves questioning what is presented, understanding something implies a level of comprehension and familiarity, affirming implies being able to verify something -- almost in an evaluating manner. The ability to deny something implies being able to accept or reject the truth. Wanting something speaks to how human desire is largely a cognitive process. Refusal implies tha

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t individuals are capable of having a strong cognizance of what they want, so strong that it can guide the process of what they will accept or reject. The aptitude of imagination is perhaps the strongest and most powerful ability that a human being possesses: it signifies the ability to picture that which is not. Imagination means that the human being is able to comprehend things existing not as they already are. Thus is such a remarkable ability, one could even argue that the ability to imagine alone is proof enough of the validity of "I think, therefore I am." Imagination means that an individual is able to comprehend things which do not exist, which have never appeared before in his plane of existence or realm of experience. In a word, it's an entirely creative, almost godlike process and one which creates full support for the idea, "I think, therefore I am" because nothing so strongly supports the notion of beingness than the ability to create, even if it's just in the mind. "But the 'I' who imagines is also this same 'I'. For even if (as I am pretending) none of the things that I imagine really exist, I really do imagine them, and this is part of my thinking" (Descartes, 6). This is a truly complex aspect of thinking, one which demonstrates that the human being is capable of engaging in thought which demonstrates an autonomy from the way things are. The human being, through imagination, is able to create a separateness from his immediate reality, whatever that reality, and create an image or idea of things that are elsewhere -- not immediate. This is a true intricacy of the cognitive process and one which give evidence for "I think, therefore I am."

The final attribute that Descartes describes as occurring in the human mind is the ability to sense; the human being senses, as Descartes puts it. This is an ability that's just as powerful and significant as the ability to imagine. To sense implies a high level of cognition and one which helps the human being to discern using a high level of finely-tuned cognitive ability along with deeper, more nuanced senses like gut and instinct. This act of sensing may not be as easily understandable or as conscious as the ability of conscious thought, but it doesn't mean they don't exist. To sense is to feel, discern, or perceive in a highly complex manner using thought and instinct. Just like imagination, the ability of the human being to engage with the world in this manner implies a high level of elaborate beingness, something which supports direct that the idea of "I think, therefore I am is absolutely correct.

Furthermore, this idea is buttressed even further by Descartes when he points out that the individual "understands some things" (6). This distinction is important as it demonstrates that the human being doesn't have to understand everything in order to exist; full and total comprehension is not important in order to act as evidence for the existence of an individual. "Lastly, it is also this same 'I' who senses, or is aware of bodily things seemingly through the senses" (Descartes, 6). This is just another level and mode of awareness and processing of information that implies a complex individual who is rife with sheer beingness. The world is intricate enough; having a complete grip on these intricacies is not a necessity to validate the existence of a human being. Rather it's the cognizance of the human being that he understands some things and doesn't understand others which is the most interesting part, as it offers up the idea of a heightened sense of awareness of the individual -- yet even further evidence which reinforces the idea, "I think, therefore I am."

Another fascinating point that Descartes brings up, is that all of these ideas presented are still absolute, even if the reality that we are a part of is part of an extended dream: "Isn't all this just as true as the fact that I exist, even if I am in a perpetual dream, and even if my creator is doing his best to deceive me? Which of all these activities is distinct from my thinking? Which of them can be said to be separate from myself? The fact that it is I who doubt and understand and want is so obvious that I can't see how to make it any clearer… Because I may be dreaming, I can't say for sure that I now see the ?ames, hear the wood crackling, and feel the heat of the ?re; but I certainly seem to see, to hear, and to be warmed. This cannot be false; what is called 'sensing' is strictly just this seeming, and when 'sensing' is understood in this restricted sense of the word it too is simply thinking" (Descartes, 6). This is one of Descartes' most fascinating points, as essentially he's illuminating that whether or not this reality is as concrete as it seems to us is really of no consequence; this reality could simply be a highly dynamic and highly extended dream; it's actually of no consequence to us. Whether or not this reality is real or dreamt does not negate the existence of the human being at all. Existence is directly implied upon the capability of thinking outside of one's environmental reality, of creating an autonomy distinct from that which is, and being able to have a world of thought -- a veritable life of the mind, offers a strong reinforcement for the truth of the notion, "I think, therefore I am."

The idea of the "life of the mind" is a key element which acts as a strong foundational support for the validity of "I think, therefore I am." There is an absoluteness to the thought process, even if it's not tactile or tangible or even visible to others. "When ideas are considered solely in themselves and not taken to be connected to anything else, they can't be false; for whether it is •a goat that I am imagining or •a chimera, either way it is true that I do imagine it" (Descartes, 10). And in that act of imagination, there is a degree of the creation of life: there is the making of the idea -- an act which should not be underestimated. Whatever the idea is, it has still been created by the human being in an act of autonomy from his environment. The key again, is this distinction.

However, in alignment with this concrete aspect of the separateness and autonomy of human thought, is the notion of truth, an even more persuasive concept, which also helps to buttress the idea of "I think, therefore I am. As Descartes points out, the fact that a human being has emotions, feelings which can also manifest themselves as thought, which occur with utter truth and honesty -- this can also be used as support for the fact that human beings have an autonomous existence. Feelings emerge within the sense of the human being without being predicted and sometimes without any warning whatsoever. Yet, even in this enigmatic manner that they occur and exist, they're still completely true. There's very little that the human being can manipulate about his own emotions. "Nor is… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Descartes and the Life of the Mind" Assignment:

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PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING ONLINE VERSION OF THE TEXT: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/descmedi.pdf

Below are some guidelines to be followed:

Writing Checklist-

1. â–¡ Introductory paragraph (or early phase of an alternative format): Try to establish the theoretical framework for your paper. You may develop your view later in the paper as well, but the reader needs to know what the issue is before proceeding. You should also try to give a specific overview of the main points constituting your argument. This gives the reader a kind of map and makes it much easier to follow your analysis. Avoid making vague or grandiose statements in the introduction, such as *****W. H. Auden points out different elements . . .***** (vague: tell me which elements) or *****Throughout history . . .***** (grandiose: stick to what you know). Make sure the course of the argument follows your map.

2. â–¡ Body: Be sure to give adequate discussion of the position or positions you are defending. This means that you should not leave too many questions about your meaning or interpretation of the text. Be concise but thorough.

3. â–¡ Keeping your conclusion in mind, be sure that you develop a step-by-step argument to convince the reader of the cogency of your point of view. Each paragraph or component (for alternative formats) should contribute to your final conclusion. Especially in a relatively short paper, do not use your conclusion simply to repeat or summarize the paper. Instead, pull everything together for the first time and leave the reader with some memorable line or thought.

4. â–¡ Avoid vague or unjustified claims. Always explain yourself and try to integrate textual support for your interpretations. Doing so will enhance the persuasiveness of your argument.

5. â–¡ Avoid overuse of the passive voice, which only creates wordiness and makes your claims less direct. So, instead of saying, *****It is argued in Plato*****s Sophist that X,***** use the active voice and say, *****In his Sophist, Plato argues X.***** Instead of saying, *****It will be shown in this paper that X,***** use the active voice and say, *****I show that X.***** This change yields prose that is more aggressive, confident, and persuasive, eliminating a lot of academic verbiage along the way.

6. â–¡ Feel free to use the first person. Especially in philosophy, you should take responsibility for your thesis and argument, instead of pretending to keep them at an artificial *****objective***** distance. There is no need to overdo it, however. Don*****t keep saying, *****I believe***** or *****in my opinion,***** since this weakens your point, especially given the weak status of belief when compared with knowledge. Just make your claims and defend them,

7. â–¡ Format: Staple your paper. Make sure it is double spaced. (Note: alternative formats may require special arrangements. See me to discuss the matter.) Use black ink and a 10- or 12-point easily read font, such as Times New Roman. Set margins at 1 inch. Number your pages (the first page should not have a page number; set the header so that page numbers begin to appear on page 2. Hint: Be sure the insertion point is in the second [or subsequent] page header before inserting page numbers; uncheck the box that says *****include number on first page*****). You do not need a title page. Just put your name, class, assignment, and date in the upper left corner of page one. You may also include your last name in the header, next to the page number.

8. â–¡ Do not permit MS Word to insert extra space between paragraphs (which it currently does by default). If MS Word is inserting such space automatically, go to the paragraph menu and set *****spacing before***** and *****spacing after***** at 0. I recommend that you then click the *****default***** button to make this the default spacing for your MS Word documents.

9. â–¡ Quotations and Documentation: Be sure you have included a Works Cited page and/or Works Consulted page, properly formatted in MLA style. Refer to Diana Hacker, A *****s Reference, section MLA.

10. â–¡ Be sure you use in-text citations to document quotations, paraphrases, and or implicit references to the ideas and theories contained in the assigned texts or other sources. Do not use footnotes, except explanatory footnotes or footnotes acknowledging outside assistance, such as assistance received at the Writing Center.

11. â–¡ Do not set quotations in italics. Use italics only if they appear in the original or if you wish to emphasize a key word or phrase. If you do add italics to a quotation, include the phrase *****emphasis added***** (or some equivalent phrase) after the cited page number: (172, emphasis added). Make sure the in-text citation appears outside of the quotation marks. Final punctuation should appear after the citation: Frodo said, *****I will take the Ring***** (Tolkien 264). Long quotations (more than four lines) must be set as block text. See Hacker, Â§ MLA3b for one acceptable way of handling long quotations. Do not enclose block quotations in quotation marks. (I will accept single-spaced, indented block quotations, however. In this case, insert an extra space above and below the quotation and indent the entire quotation on the left side only.) Always use double quotation marks (*****x*****) for non-block quotations or so-called *****scare-quotes.***** Use single quotation marks (*****˜x*****) only for quotations within quotations.

12. â–¡ Be sure to introduce quotations with adequate context. And make sure you integrate quotations in such a way as to yield complete or correctly formed sentences. If you use an introductory phrase with a quotation in such a way as to yield a complete sentence, use a comma before the quotation. Example: According to Descartes, *****I think, therefore I am.***** Introduce evidentiary quotations (quotations that serve as direct evidence for a preceding statement, but which do not flow into a complete sentence) with a colon. Example: Plato thinks knowledge is open to everyone: *****The power to know is already in every soul.*****

13. â–¡ If you add any words to a quotation or alter any words, enclose the additions or alterations in brackets: [ ]. Do not enclose the added words or alterations in parentheses, since that will imply they are part of the original source.

14. â–¡ Quote precisely. Misquotations are unacceptable and show inadequate attention to detail. You should proofread your quotations word for word against the original during the final stages of preparing the paper for submission.

15. â–¡ Proofreading and Editing: Make sure you verify the spelling of all proper names, along with the book title and author*****s name! Hint: Once you have verified a proper name, highlight it, then right-click and add it to the dictionary.

16. â–¡ Book titles should be underlined or italicized both in the paper and in the Works Cited. I prefer italics throughout, but whichever you choose, be consistent. Do not underline some titles and italicize others. Italicize foreign words (e.g., eudaimonia, nous, cogito)

17. â–¡ Make sure you form possessives properly: one*****s theory, not ones theory; Socrates***** or (Socrates*****s) theory, not Socrates theory, etc.

18. â–¡ Insert one space between ellipsis dots and quoted material. Examples: *****blah blah blah . . . blah blah.***** MLA recommends that you not use ellipsis dots at the beginning of quotations, since the reader takes it granted that material may have been omitted. If you omit a whole sentence, insert a period at the end of the sentence that appears prior to the omission: Plato says, *****blah, blah, blah. . . . blahdy blah blah.*****

19. â–¡ Avoid contractions altogether in formal writing (may be appropriate in alternative formats, such as written dialogue).

20. â–¡ Be sure you do not make the following all-too-common mistakes: confusing than with then; confusing it*****s (a contraction for *****it is*****) with its (a possessive); confusing there, their, and they*****re; confusing principal and principle; confusing affect and effect. To avoid other common usage errors, familiarize yourself with Hacker*****s section on usage (Â§ W1).

21. â–¡ Learn to avoid comma splices (marked CS in the margin), run-on sentences, and fragments! Refer to Hacker, Â§Â§ G5 and G6. The presence of such poorly punctuated sentences will lower your grade.

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