Descartes' doctrine of clear and distinct perception holds that some necessary truths—like cogito and mathematical axioms—are grasped with a certainty that forecloses error by the nature of the mental act itself.

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Descartes: # Descartes René Descartes was a French philosopher and mathematician from the 1600s who fundamentally changed how people think about knowledge and the mind. He's famous for the idea "I think, therefore I am" (cogito ergo sum), which means that the very fact that you can think proves you exist—a foundation for modern philosophy. He also invented the coordinate system used in mathematics (the x and y axes on a graph), which connects geometry and algebra in practical ways we still use today.
Doctrine(refers to the teachings being passed down): A set of beliefs or principles that a philosopher or group teaches and believes to be true.
clear and distinct perception(Cartesian epistemology; the criterion for certainty): A cognitive state in which the mind's assent is involuntary and unavoidable — the mind cannot help assenting to what it clearly understands
cogito(Cartesian epistemology): The first-person inference 'I think, therefore I am', characterized by extraordinary certainty and resistance to doubt, serving as an Archimedean turning point in Descartes' meditative inquiry

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