Descartes is one of the most renowned philosophers who introduced quite revolutionary (for his time) ideas. However, his ideas are still very important as they are the basis of the entire western (or even human) society.
Thus, people believe they live in a physical world, and this understanding affects their everyday decisions. At present, it seems obvious that if we can see an object or touch it, it exists. However, this idea had to be properly proved centuries ago. Descartes managed to provide comprehensive evidence to support his idea that there is a physical world which is external to people’s mind.
In the first place, it is necessary to note that the philosopher uses several proofs, i.e., he takes a step by step to bring the reader to his conclusion. It is but natural that the philosopher starts his reasoning with analysis of himself, i.e., a human being. Descartes gives quite a precise definition of a man.
According to the philosopher, an individual is the one who has the body with all its physical systems that function and the soul, i.e., ability to feel, think, doubt and analyze. Descartes notes that if a person thinks and doubts, he/she exists. Therefore, if he, Descartes, can think and feel, he does exist. In this way, the philosopher comes to a very important conclusion that he exists.
This conclusion is essential as it is the basis of the entire reasoning. Admittedly, an individual that exists is a physical object. In other words, the philosopher proves existence of, at least, one physical object in the world, i.e. himself. Therefore, it is possible to expand on the idea and suggest that people exist in the physical world.
Nonetheless, Descartes does not find it sufficient to prove that he exists. He continues reasoning. The philosopher tries to understand what the physical world is. He uses a very nice example of a piece of wax. The philosopher expresses his doubt that the piece of wax exists as an object in the real world. Descartes admits that it is possible that the piece of wax is one of the images in the individual’s mind.
However, a sheer idea cannot give off a smell and cannot be touched. At the same time, a person can feel the physical impact of wax. It is possible to melt the wax and the person can even get burn on the hands if the liquid wax drips on the skin. Obviously, ideas cannot burn skin as only existing things can physically affect other existing things. Apart from this, wax gives off some smell which evaporates, but which can be felt with the help of human senses.
Finally, people can actually see a piece of wax and know about its numerous qualities. Of course, it is possible to think of a variety of examples to prove that there are numberless physical objects in the world, but Descartes’ example is really suggestive.
A simple example (the use of wax) makes it possible for Descartes to prove a more complicated thing. The philosopher formulates his principle of ‘adequate reality.’ Thus, he notes that the stars and the sun as well as other objects which cannot be touched still exist in the real physical world.
Descartes states that if human senses tend to perceive the world correctly (though there are many examples of erroneous perception), it is possible to rely on senses and knowledge as long as the data are extensive. In other words, the philosopher claims that even though it is impossible to touch a star or to see a heart beating inside a man, it does not mean stars and hearts do not exist, as people can actually be affected by these objects.
For instance, stars have been studied for centuries and it was proved long ago that the moon affects the earth (e.g. ebb and flow). As far as the heart is concerned, people can feel the beating of the heart or even hear it, even though they cannot touch their hearts.
The principle of ‘adequate reality’ helps Descartes come to another important conclusion. His reasoning brings him to the conclusion that any idea which is stated and formulated properly (i.e. concisely and comprehensively) is true. The philosopher resorts to mathematics to prove his assumption about the idea.
Remarkably, numerous mathematical theories and hypotheses are proved. What is more, they are all strict and concise. It is also important to add that Descartes stresses that ideas should also be applied to something external to a man to be plausible.
Finally, Descartes claims that people do not understand the real nature of many physical things due to the scarcity of their knowledge. The philosopher also notes that people are simply unable to understand some things as humans are imperfect. Nevertheless, this inability to understand does not mean that people can deny the existence of some objects. The philosopher resorts to the impact of heat.
The thinker states that it is quite difficult to explain why people perceive heat the way they do. Moreover, the very mechanism of perception is difficult to analyze. Thus, the author concludes that even though people do not see God, it is impossible to say that God does not exist as people feel and see a variety of manifestations of God’s power. Notably, Descartes stresses that the ability to doubt is nothing but one of God’s blessings.
Thus, these several steps help Descartes prove that the real world exists and it is external to people’s mind. The philosopher tries to refute ideas that support the opposite, and Descartes is successful. Thus, his ideas on his existence are comprehensive and plausible as it is impossible to doubt that a person exists if he/she can feel and think. However, Descartes also tries to prove that the world is not an idea existing in an individual’s mind.
The philosopher proves that objects exist despite people’s will or desire and even knowledge. The philosopher also proves that the physical world which exists outside people’s minds have lots of things which are difficult to comprehend. However, even though people do not understand some things, these things still exist in the real world.
To sum up, it is necessary to note that Descartes highlighted and summarized a system of values which are now the basis of the contemporary world. People continued to doubt, but they also kept on trying to find out more about the physical world around them.
As a result, people of the twenty-first century understand numerous phenomena which were regarded as mysterious in the times of Descartes. Now, due to Descartes’ explanations, even a teenager can prove that people exist in the physical world.