Rene Descartes 1596-1650 Rene Descartes 1596-1650

But what about error in perceivingour own bodies?Phantom limb phenomenon:This explains how people who have lost a limb may continue to havesensations of pain in that limb. The nerve cords that had originally ended inlimb still exist, hence, motions will sometimes be sent up the remaining partsof the cord to the brain, just as if they had been initiated in the original limb.What we can know: seek pleasure, avoid pain:It is not surprising that we may sometimes make errors in perceiving our ownbodies, since we know sensation to be fallible. Still, Descartes thinks that weare more often right in those perceptions than not. Moreover, he contendsthat one thing we can be certain of with respect to sensation is that in generalwe should seek pleasure and avoid pain, as God has set up our sensations sothat pleasurable sensations indicate what to seek out for survival, and painfulsensations show us what to avoid.138