Wax of a Paper Essay Example for Free

Wax of a Paper Essay Descartes doubts the things he sees and experiences. His philosophy is concerned with â€Å"no knowledge† given that his human understanding and perceptions have failed to meet the criteria of being certain or fool proof (Ross, 1997). If I see myself writing this paper in a dream, and the dream seems truly real to me at the time I am dreaming in bed, I will remember the dream while writing the paper today. This remembrance would lead me to wonder whether I am dreaming at this point too. Given that both the dream and the reality of writing this paper appear real to me, what was the purpose of my dream? And, what is truly real? Was my dream more or less real than the reality I am living just now? Seeing that I am doubting the reality of my dream versus the reality I am living right now, is reality not relative to the ‘real’ which is meant to be solid and of an absolutely certain nature? Descartes provides the example of wax to reveal the uncertain, ‘relative,’ or fluid nature of everything that human being experiences (Descartes, 2001). The fact that the wax changes it shape, form, and texture shows that it is not an unchanging object that we would recognize as a certainty. The form of the wax is, in fact, relative to the conditions through which it passes. Furthermore, Descartes reveals that our perceptions cannot be based on sight alone. The wax changes it shape, form, and texture. Therefore, if were to base our understanding or ‘knowing’ on sight alone, we would conclude that the wax is a separate object in its solid form, and another one in liquid form. Moreover, we cannot base our understanding on imagination alone, seeing that our imagination does not allow us to include an infinite number of possibilities in our understanding of the texture of the wax. We are led to believe, as a result of this reasoning, that the perception of the external objects, i. e. the wax and the act of sitting by the fireplace, is entirely based on the judgments of the mind and the conclusion it reaches (â€Å"Rene Descartes: 1596-1650,† 2006). Then again, the mind may be confused enough to start doubting whether a dream is real, or whether that which it knows as reality is a dream. In the end, I would only be able to reach the conclusion that ‘I think, therefore I am. ’ However, it does not necessarily mean that I would trust all that I have thought. Perhaps the paper is not for real either! References Descartes, R. (2001). Meditations on First Philosophy in which the Existence of God and the Distinction Between Mind and Body are Demonstrated (Ed. Glyn Hughes). Retrieved Oct 12, 2008, from http://www. btinternet. com/~glynhughes/squashed/index. htm. Rene Descartes: 1596-1650. (2006). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved Oct 12, 2008, from http://www. iep. utm. edu/d/descarte. htm. Ross, K. L. (1997). Rene Descartes (1596-1650) and the Meditations on First Philosophy. History of Philosophy. Retrieved Oct 12, 2008, from http://www. friesian. com/hist-2. htm.