investigation. To prove the Idea of I think, therefore I am, Descartes used an apple. He called this experiment the Wax Example. The apple was used to compare the question of who am I which is the personal identity. Descartes strongly believed that our personal identity is more clear and fundamental than perception of external objects. This means that since we can think and have our senses, it is easier to believe that we did have a personal identity. Since the apple can not ask itself am I alive, therefore the apple could not have the identity. Descartes using two pieces of wax argued this case. The one piece of wax was used while it was in solid state and the other after the wax had been melted by fire. Descartes argues that our senses alone cannot inform us of the continuity of the two states of the wax since none of the qualities of the wax remain the same. The wax example could also not be determined by an imagination of what the wax could else have done. Meaning that the one wax could not do what the other did after it had been melted. Descartes believes that sight, touch, imagination does not establish the continuity of the wax, but it is established by the (intellect) imagination of man himself. The human mind can play a trick upon itself, but all in the end the mind is having an imagination that does not really exist. The other Idea Descartes describes is people who walk bye everyday. When I look out the window, I conclude that I see people crossing the road. All that appears to my senses, though, is clothing (Descartes, 247). This statement does not mean that he does not see the people themselves, but he does see the clothing and hats that cover the parts of their bodies. This statement argues that the people have two different things, the mind and the body. The clothing covers the body, which is the extended thing, and the mind, the thinking thing suggests that all you see is the clothing over the people. ...
