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HoP 468 Perchance to Dream: Descartes’ Skeptical Method

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HoP 468 Perchance to Dream: Descartes’ Skeptical Method

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

2025/04/27
History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

2025/04/27
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

How Descartes fashioned a “method” to repel even the strongest and most radical forms of doubt, with the cogito argument as its foundation.

Highlights

This episode delves into Descartes' philosophical masterpiece, the Meditations, exploring his radical method of doubt and the famous cogito argument. The discussion examines how Descartes sought to establish an unshakeable foundation for knowledge by systematically questioning all beliefs, and the role of God in his system.
00:13
Descartes' Meditations is like Hamlet, over-familiar but a literary masterpiece.
06:31
Clear ideas are like a triangle, not coldness.
15:34
He seeks a truth not even God could falsify.
18:26
The cogito argument establishes existence as indubitable through direct intuition.
24:24
His reliance on God to defeat skepticism actually boosted skepticism

Chapters

How Descartes' Method Uses Radical Doubt to Find Certainty
00:00
What Makes an Idea 'Clear and Distinct'? The Triangle vs. Coldness
06:31
Was Descartes' Skepticism Genuine or a Response to Montaigne?
12:28
The Cogito: An Indubitable Intuition, Not a Syllogism
18:26
Why Proving God's Existence Both Defeats and Boosts Skepticism
24:24

Transcript

Peter Adamson: I'm Peter Adamson, and you're listening to the History of Philosophy podcast, brought to you with the support of the philosophy department at King's College London and the LMU in Munich, online at historyofphilosophy.net. Today's episode, Pe...