Intellect, Not Imagination

Intellect, Not Imagination

Descartes meditations are his way of trying to show what you can and cannot believe. He uses a melting candle to prove extension and the existence of bodies. By the end of the first meditation, Descartes has deemed himself completely without knowledge. By introducing various sceptical possibilities, he has done away with any certainty in his previous beliefs. He reasons the possibility of a deceptive God which means he can never be sure of anything, because there is always the chance he is being deceived. However, in the second meditation he realizes that even if he is being deceived, he can still be sure of one thing, his existence. To be deceived, there must be something that is being deceived, which means he must exist. Even having found his one piece of certainty, Descartes is still left with the impression that he understands the "corporeal" things of the external world much better than this necessary existence of the first person. So he puts to the test his understanding of physical objects to try and strengthen his certainty of his existence as a thinking thing.

Next, Descartes tries to explain his apparent understanding of physical objects: "Let us consider the things which people commonly think they understand most distinctly of all; that is, the bodies we see and touch."1 Descartes says that while all of the properties of a piece of wax can change, we still use intellect and determine it is still wax. "But does the same wax remain? It must be admitted that it does; no one denies it, no one thinks otherwise."1 These properties are: flavor, scent, color, shape, size, texture, temperature, and sound. When the wax melts it no longer possesses any of the same sensory properties by which we defined it previously, and yet it is still the same wax. So there must be some essential property that defines it. If you take away all of these changeable properties, you are left with "merely something extended, flexible and changeable."1 But even these properties can be imagined in infinite ways and could be used to describe any number of things, and it would still be that same piece of wax. This leads Descartes to believe that "the nature of this piece of wax is in no way revealed by my imagination, but is perceived by the mind alone."1 Here he is saying that the imagination, like the senses, is part of the body, rather than an attribute of the mind.

Descartes' is seeking an answer that allows him to understand the sameness of the wax through change and he is not satisfied with merely accepting that he has this ability. Descartes is