Descartes, the 16th century French born philosopher claimed that our senses were deemed unreliable. To further demonstrate the limitations of the senses, Descartes proceeds with what is now known as The Wax Argument. He considers a piece of wax; his senses inform him that it has certain characteristics, such as shape, texture, size, color, smell, etc. When he brings the wax towards a flame, these characteristics change completely. However, it seems that it is still the same thing: it is still a piece of wax, even though the data of the senses inform him that all of its characteristics are different. Therefore, in order to properly grasp the nature of the wax, he cannot use the senses. He must use his mind.
He therefore posited, "And so something which I thought I was seeing with my eyes is in fact grasped solely by the faculty of judgment which is in my mind."
Could we then go on to say that perception is not a means to truth, but of it? Or is there inherent truth? We must perceive a truth for it to become a law. This is what brings about common law and customary international laws. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals (called case law), rather than through legislative statutes or executive action. Customary international law are those aspects of international law that derive from custom. Coupled with general principles of law and treaties, custom is considered by the International Court of Justice, jurists, the United Nations, and its member states to be among the primary sources of international law. For example, laws of war were long a matter of customary law before they were codified in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, Geneva Conventions, and other treaties.
Does all of this mean that there are no inherent laws? Nature has inherent law within it. Descartes, Galileo, Newton and so many others spent their lives in pursuit of these laws and defining them for the layman to begin to grasp and understand the meanings and rules that govern them. If the universe has inherent laws that it exists within, humans do so as well.
What separate humans, at least in our own egotistic perception of various species and our own reality, is that we think, therefore we are...But, this is only perceived in order to make it true.
Is there such thing as universal truths? As I discussed back on June 7th, 2008, in my entry entitled "You Can't Handle the Truth", I discuss the writer Ayn Rand, author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, who believed that truth exists independently of the minds and opinions of people. That there was an underlying universal self evident truth that existed beyond the scope of society and its collective manipulations that can cloud the value of universal truth.
The Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico, had a response to Descartes which he published in 1744 in the Principi De Scienza Nuova to which he posited, “The criterion and rule of the true is to have made it. Accordingly, our clear and distinct idea of the mind cannot be a criterion of the mind itself, still less of other truths. For while the mind perceives itself, it does not make itself."
Descartes also goes on to argue that sensory perceptions come to him involuntarily, and are not willed by him. They are external to his senses, and according to Descartes, this is evidence of the existence of something outside of his mind, and thus, an external world.
Descartes viewed rational knowledge as being "incapable of being destroyed" and sought to construct an unshakable ground upon which all other knowledge can be based. The first item of unshakable knowledge that Descartes argues for is the aforementioned cogito, or thinking thing.
We see that laws are created, through rational knowledge, yet we create these laws out of our own perception of an inherent belief of truth. Through time we have been able to observe that truth can change as our perceptions change. Do we live in such a malleable global society that our customary international laws change with time and become perceived laws and not bound by a perceived universal self evident truth?
This is the philosophy behind the Bush Administration. Now, on his last day of rule, he must resign himself to the fact that as he thought that he was immune to law, or that he could make people perceive the truth in ways that we had not done so before, he must now realize that we, as a global society, have certain common laws and customary laws based on a perception of truth. This perception of truth has been created to eliminate tyrants, murderers, and dictators.
Laws are only laws when they are acted on and policed in order to make and sustain societal order. As our global civic community becomes more accustomed to being more and more interactive with each separate entity we must realize the delicacy and necessity of the customary international laws to maintain a perceived truth.
It is time that the world maintain its perceived truth and customary international laws and hold Bush and his exiting administration accountable to the rules of law as we hold them today.
We must prosecute and uphold our international laws. As Obama wants to look forward we must realize that a step forward means we are coming "from" somewhere. We are stepping away "from" something. Without acknowledging what we are stepping from we will not be able to create what we want to step to. Without the order of perceived truths, that we have made rules of law, that we abide by to which we step away from we will not have those perceived rules as we step into our new future.
Without restitution of laws there is only anarchy. If this man gets away with the atrocities to which he committed to this world, its perceived truths that have governed our ever shrinking global community will forever be changed and precedent will have been set for such unaccountable tyranny to rule once again.
This, the 241th entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!
(c)Copyright 2009 Doug Boggs
Showing posts with label Descartes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Descartes. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cogito, ergo sum...
Descartes, Aristotle, Archimedes, King Solomon, Napoleon Hill, Obama, Oprah...
The Law of Attraction swept through the nation a year or two ago with the release of the book with that same title, as well as, through the hugely successful book and video, "The Secret", that was discussed quite a bit of "Oprah". All of this stems from the long running personal bible to many, the Napoleon Hill book "Think and Grow Rich" or the old testament biblical stories of King Solomon.
It seems that the rules do exist and are exemplified quite strongly today. Or are they? It is discussed throughout the self help world with guru's like Anthony Robbins and others to envision your successes. Whatever that may mean to someone whether it be in love, finance, personal health or anything in life. If you can see it, you can achieve it, is a common workshop mantra.
It is also discussed in philosophy classes throughout the world that, as Descartes wrote, "Cogito, ergo sum" or "I think therefore I am", that not only are we the creators of our existence do to that theory, but by thinking of your life and how you want things to produce themselves, it is said that you create your own life. Aristotle stated, "But if life itself is good and pleasant and if one who sees is conscious that he sees, one who hears that he hears, one who walks that he walks and similarly for all the other human activities there is a faculty that is conscious of their exercise, so that whenever we perceive, we are conscious that we perceive, and whenever we think, we are conscious that we think, and to be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking is to be conscious that we exist... (Nicomachean Ethics)
There are three important notes to keep in mind here. First, Descarte only claims the certainty of his own existence from the first-person point of view — he has not proved the existence of other minds at this point. This is something that has to be thought through by each of us for ourselves, as we follow the course of the meditations. Second, he is not saying that his existence is necessary; he is saying that if he's thinking, then necessarily he exists. Third, this proposition "I am, I exist" is held true not based on a deduction nor on empirical induction, but on the clarity and self-evidence of the proposition.
But, as in Isaac Asimov's principles of robotics, The Three Laws, and how they are broken in "I, Robot", was the basis of the hit movie with Will Smith. Constantly, the robot malfunctions as a result of "thinking" about itself, its behavior, and loopholes in the Three Laws of Robotics from this quote.
Although, Descarte's theories came from the first person perspective, we also know through emergence theory and mob mentality as a collective, that we exist albeit not in a vacuum. We exist in an ever shrinking global community of beings. The global energetic is a key factor to helping us create the world we wish to live in. As the global leaders, the press, one's own community and familial environment show us that, as Roosevelt stated so clearly, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."
We have been running or shall I say, the world has been following an administration that bred fear throughout the world to which they created a global stream of people who manifested that fear and confusion. We are in the midst of changing this energy and turning things around. As we went from positiveness to eight years of darkness and turmoil instantly, we can turn things around just as quickly and powerfully with the right global attitudes and consciousness.
Whether you believe in these theories or not, it works. This seems to be true. When people began to believe there was no way out for the economy, since that was the only topics of the water cooler discussions, the global press and the blogoshpere, the economy had no other means but to fail. This can change!
Well, can we see ourselves getting out of this global catastrophe? Can we end the occupation of Iraq? Can we put positive back into our lives? We must! Obama has shown us all that thinking positive and acting with purpose can bring one the results they are looking for. He gave us all the example that these books tout so clearly. We must begin to do as Obama has done to set the example and only think of the positive. There are solutions to any problem and we must think clearly and act with decisiveness as to our desired outcomes to reach a positive result.
In conclusion, and in the words of our modern metaphysical President elect, who said, "Yes We Can."
(c)Copyright 2008 Doug Boggs
The Law of Attraction swept through the nation a year or two ago with the release of the book with that same title, as well as, through the hugely successful book and video, "The Secret", that was discussed quite a bit of "Oprah". All of this stems from the long running personal bible to many, the Napoleon Hill book "Think and Grow Rich" or the old testament biblical stories of King Solomon.
It seems that the rules do exist and are exemplified quite strongly today. Or are they? It is discussed throughout the self help world with guru's like Anthony Robbins and others to envision your successes. Whatever that may mean to someone whether it be in love, finance, personal health or anything in life. If you can see it, you can achieve it, is a common workshop mantra.
It is also discussed in philosophy classes throughout the world that, as Descartes wrote, "Cogito, ergo sum" or "I think therefore I am", that not only are we the creators of our existence do to that theory, but by thinking of your life and how you want things to produce themselves, it is said that you create your own life. Aristotle stated, "But if life itself is good and pleasant and if one who sees is conscious that he sees, one who hears that he hears, one who walks that he walks and similarly for all the other human activities there is a faculty that is conscious of their exercise, so that whenever we perceive, we are conscious that we perceive, and whenever we think, we are conscious that we think, and to be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking is to be conscious that we exist... (Nicomachean Ethics)
There are three important notes to keep in mind here. First, Descarte only claims the certainty of his own existence from the first-person point of view — he has not proved the existence of other minds at this point. This is something that has to be thought through by each of us for ourselves, as we follow the course of the meditations. Second, he is not saying that his existence is necessary; he is saying that if he's thinking, then necessarily he exists. Third, this proposition "I am, I exist" is held true not based on a deduction nor on empirical induction, but on the clarity and self-evidence of the proposition.
But, as in Isaac Asimov's principles of robotics, The Three Laws, and how they are broken in "I, Robot", was the basis of the hit movie with Will Smith. Constantly, the robot malfunctions as a result of "thinking" about itself, its behavior, and loopholes in the Three Laws of Robotics from this quote.
Although, Descarte's theories came from the first person perspective, we also know through emergence theory and mob mentality as a collective, that we exist albeit not in a vacuum. We exist in an ever shrinking global community of beings. The global energetic is a key factor to helping us create the world we wish to live in. As the global leaders, the press, one's own community and familial environment show us that, as Roosevelt stated so clearly, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."
We have been running or shall I say, the world has been following an administration that bred fear throughout the world to which they created a global stream of people who manifested that fear and confusion. We are in the midst of changing this energy and turning things around. As we went from positiveness to eight years of darkness and turmoil instantly, we can turn things around just as quickly and powerfully with the right global attitudes and consciousness.
Whether you believe in these theories or not, it works. This seems to be true. When people began to believe there was no way out for the economy, since that was the only topics of the water cooler discussions, the global press and the blogoshpere, the economy had no other means but to fail. This can change!
Well, can we see ourselves getting out of this global catastrophe? Can we end the occupation of Iraq? Can we put positive back into our lives? We must! Obama has shown us all that thinking positive and acting with purpose can bring one the results they are looking for. He gave us all the example that these books tout so clearly. We must begin to do as Obama has done to set the example and only think of the positive. There are solutions to any problem and we must think clearly and act with decisiveness as to our desired outcomes to reach a positive result.
In conclusion, and in the words of our modern metaphysical President elect, who said, "Yes We Can."
(c)Copyright 2008 Doug Boggs
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