Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Whatever we clearly and distinctly perceive is true. — Carmelics
    Home/Perception
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Part of a larger discussion

    Supports→Possibilities which exist only in thought are not possibilities at all on Descartes' view.

    Whatever we clearly and distinctly perceive is true.

    PerceptionTruth & Knowledge
    Overall Strength:70%
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • God cannot be a deceiver.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Descartes' validation of clear and distinct perception relies on God's existence, which is itself established through clear and distinct perception.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Any argument whose conclusion is a necessary condition for the validity of its own premises commits a vicious epistemic circle.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Therefore the Cartesian criterion cannot be self-validating without presupposing what it sets out to prove (Arnauld's objection, Fourth Objections).
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Historical cases show that trained philosophers have held mutually contradictory propositions with equal subjective certainty and clarity (e.g., infinite divisibility debates).
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If two competent reasoners can each clearly and distinctly perceive contradictory propositions, the criterion cannot reliably track mind-independent truth.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

    Topics

    PerceptionTruth & Knowledge

    Connections

    4 topics

    Modality & Possibility2 linkedAgainst an attribute of God1 linkedDivine Attributes1 linked

    Related

    Any argument whose conclusion is a necessary condition for the validity of its o...Descartes' validation of clear and distinct perception relies on God's existence...God cannot be a deceiver.Historical cases show that trained philosophers have held mutually contradictory...
    +7 moreShow less
    If a possibility exists only in thought, there is no object to which the concept...If a possibility is clearly and distinctly perceived, there must be an object to...

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: descartes-modal
    View source passageHide passage
    Alanen’s view is ingenious, but a serious worry that arises for it is that Descartes appears to hold (and without the slightest bit of equivocation) that there are modal claims that pertain to God and that are useful for explicating His behavior. For example, we conclude in the Fourth Meditation that God cannot be a deceiver and therefore that whatever we clearly and distinctly perceive is true. We would also appear to be entitled to include that because God is wholly immutable, the laws of natu
    Extraction notes

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

    Details

    If two competent reasoners can each clearly and distinctly perceive contradictor...
    Possibilities not clearly and distinctly perceived are not part of Descartes' on...
    Possibilities which exist only in thought are not possibilities at all on Descar...
    Therefore the Cartesian criterion cannot be self-validating without presupposing...
    Truth is the conformity of thought with its object.
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit