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    Genuine clarity and distinctness of an idea compels the w... — Carmelics
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    Home/Consciousness & Mind
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    Genuine clarity and distinctness of an idea compels the will to affirm it

    Consciousness & Mind
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.The intellect perceives or represents the content of a judgment
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    • 2.The will affirms or denies content presented by the intellect
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    • 3.When an idea is genuinely clear and distinct, a great light in the intellect is followed by a great inclination of the will
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Descartes himself admits in the Fourth Meditation that the will can withhold assent even from clear and distinct ideas by simply declining to judge.
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    • 2.If suspension of judgment is genuinely possible, the 'compulsion' is at most a strong inclination, which is incompatible with the modal force the claim requires.
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    • 3.Hume's observation that belief is a feeling of vivacity rather than a rational compulsion shows that psychological inevitability cannot ground epistemic necessity.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Spinoza argued that clarity and distinctness are themselves constituted by coherence within a system, making the criterion circular rather than self-warranting.
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    • 2.If the mark of clarity and distinctness is itself determined by what we are already inclined to affirm, the alleged compulsion explains nothing about truth-tracking.
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    Topics

    Consciousness & MindTruth & Knowledge

    Related

    Descartes himself admits in the Fourth Meditation that the will can withhold ass...Hume's observation that belief is a feeling of vivacity rather than a rational c...If suspension of judgment is genuinely possible, the 'compulsion' is at most a s...If the mark of clarity and distinctness is itself determined by what we are alre...
    +5 moreShow less
    Spinoza argued that clarity and distinctness are themselves constituted by coher...The intellect perceives or represents the content of a judgmentThe will affirms or denies content presented by the intellectThis inclination is so strong it amounts to compulsionWhen an idea is genuinely clear and distinct, a great light in the intellect is ...

    Similar

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    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: descartes
    View source passageHide passage
    As mentioned in 3.1, Descartes held that any act of judgment, such as the affirmation “I think, therefore I am,” involves both the intellect and will. The intellect perceives or represents the content of the judgment; the will affirms or denies that content. In the face of genuine clarity and distinctness, “a great light in the intellect” is followed by “a great inclination of the will” (7:59). The inclination of the will is so strong that it amounts to compulsion; we cannot help but so affirm.
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit