The Argument of Descartes’s First Meditation 

There are many uncertainties in life. Arguably, one of the most uncertain elements this world has to offer is certainty itself. For many people, the search for that understanding can take a very long time, and it can be quite difficult to thoroughly grasp the indubitable. This essay’s subject is on the First Meditation of Rene Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy, where Descartes attempt to use certainty on his path to understand knowledge.

As a philosopher, Descartes to spends a great deal of time searching for the answers to many of the world’s toughest questions. This meditation is useful in helping him to eliminate the false claims that he has conceived as a child, and to focus on some of these questions from an unbiased, blank state of mind. This section of the reading focuses on the very important question of whether certainty is possible to obtain.

After the development of many different thoughts and opinions in the mind of Descartes, a conclusion eventually becomes existent. He believes that in order to know that something is factual, he must first doubt everything. From that point forward, if something arises that cannot be doubted, then he must build his knowledge up from there. In the end, much of the evidence he uses on his pursuit for certainty turns out to be doubtful, which leads him to the conclusion that he will not find certainty in any of the physical aspects of this world. All that he can be certain about is that he lacks certainty.

There are various arguments that are made to help support this conclusion. In order to understand knowledge, there must be foundation for one’s thoughts, and within that foundation, certainty must reside. So, Descartes feels the need to find that certainty, because it is the one thing that will help him to support his theory of knowledge being possible. He creates arguments supporting his search for certainty regarding finding foundation in respect to the senses, dreams, and an evil demon. With respect to the senses, the foundation for certainty cannot be derived from them. For, as everyone has experienced at some point in their lifetime, the senses deceive. Any time that someone misinterprets a smell, misjudges something based on its appearance, or failingly makes an assumption regarding any of the other senses, that is a time when they have been deceived by their senses. Descartes’ first premise states that if anything deceives us, even if only once, it cannot be used as foundation (Descartes 41). So, having been misled by the senses before, Descartes concludes that they cannot be trusted, and that his knowledge must be based off something else that is certain. Additionally, he makes an argument about dreams. In this argument, it is mentioned that people sometimes have vivid dreams, and within those dreams, it is hard to determine whether or not they are actually awake (42). When compared to reality, it is hard for one to truly distinguish as to if they are present, for if they are dreaming or if they are awake, there would not be a way to tell such difference (42). From this, it can be assumed that perceptions of reality also cannot be trusted as foundation for knowledge, because there are flaws in that as well. The final argument that is made is regarding the existence of an evil demon. Descartes believes that there is a, “malicious demon, at once omnipotent and supremely cunning, who has been using all the energy he possesses to deceive me” (Descartes 44). 

Clearly, Descartes believes that there is nothing in this world that he can be sure about, because for all he knows, everything could be a lie. This further proves just how highly he is struggling to understand certainty, and he is continuing to doubt everything there is. All in all, his senses, dreams, and an evil demon all give him reason to doubt everything he knows. It does teach him that there will be knowledge, but he will have to search deeper to find it. Although this meditation does not necessarily provide further evidence as to what the foundation of the certainty may be, and how Descartes comes to truly understand knowledge, it still does capture his initial concerns and answer the question he had been struggling to grasp. By using his senses, or any other physical characteristics that are present in this world, he will not be able to find certainty. All that is properly known at this point is that the only thing that is certain, is that uncertainty exists. 

Works Cited

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