Rene Descartes 1596-1650 Rene Descartes 1596-1650

2 nd Meditation: A Closer LookDescartes is in a predicament when he begins 2 nd Meditation for he seems unable tobe certain of any of his beliefs. Thus, he has put them aside.“I, suppose, then, that all things that I see are false; I persuade myself thatnothing has ever existed of all that my fallacious memory represents to me. Iconsider that I possess no senses; I imagine that body, figure, extension,movement, and place are but the fictions of my mind. What, then, can beesteemed as true? Perhaps nothing at all, unless that there is nothing in theworld that is certain. What, then, can be esteemed as true? Perhaps nothing atall, unless that there is nothing in the world that is certain.”He can not longer believe there is a world around him; he must simply suspend ofall his beliefs.But is there not one thing he can be absolutely certain of-that is, for which there isno alternative explanation?54