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Paul Sutton
Professor Pakaluk
Philosophy 313
Descartes Wax Argument
In Meditation 2, Rene Descartes finds his existence in that he thinks, and that his essence is that he is a thinking thing. In only being a thinking thing, Descartes states that his mind is distinct and more real to him than his body (even if he has a body). Unlike the Aristotelian belief in which the mind and body are connected, Descartes now aims to show that it is not through his body, his senses, and his imagination that he knows with most distinctness, but it is his mind alone.
Descartes needs to discover that nothing is more clearly apprehended than his own mind. By showing that even in bodies or corporal properties, where it seems that his senses more easily understood than his mind, are in fact known and understood by his mind alone, Descartes reaches that conclusion. To help him find his way to that conclusion Descartes gives the wax argument to illustrate this point of complete understanding......

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Approximate Word Count: 794
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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