Summary of Descartes¡¯ Meditations on the First Philosophy

Summary of Descartes¡¯ Meditations on the First Philosophy
In Meditations on the First Philosophy, Descartes tries to put our knowledge of the world on the same footing of the knowledge of mathematics, that is, to expand our knowledge by deriving ¡°theorems¡± from ¡°axioms¡±. Here the axioms is something that is absolutely certain and indubitable, free from all possible doubts. Through firm hold of the axioms, he goes further to determine what he can derive from it.
The Meditations are divided into six parts:
Meditation ¢ñ: Of the Things of Which We May Doubt
Descartes has for long realized that he had accepted many false opinions, and thus he is convinced to undertake the task of ridding himself of all the opinions he has adopted. Since all his previous knowledge is based on sense perception and the senses may mislead us in minute objects, it¡¯s quite likely that all the other things received from the senses are merely illusions. At the same time, he ass...