Descartes believed that the origin of knowledge comes from within the mind, a single indisputable fact to build on that can be gained through individual reflection. In the first meditation he casts doubt on the previous foundations of knowledge and everything he has learned or assumed. He says But reason now persuades me that I should withhold assent no less carefully from opinions that are not completely certain and indubitable than I would from those that are patently false. In order to evaluate and discern what is actually true he divides the foundations of knowledge into three sources: the senses, reality, and context. In the second meditation he has found one true fact I think, I am. Descartes then attempts to discover what this I is and how it perceives reality. The I is a body, a soul, and a thinking thing. It gains perception and recognition through the senses, the imagination, and the mind. He runs into two major problems in these meditations. One is the existence of reality. Two is the connection between body and mind as he defines them.Descartes is clearing away all knowledge that can be called into doubt. By doing this he hopes to create something real and lasting in the sciences, a foundation to build on. This indisputable fact will become the starting point or origin of all other true knowledge he can build upon it.He starts the first argument by attacking the very beginning of knowledge, human senses. Descartes states, Surely whatever I had admitted until now as most true I received either from the senses or through the senses. Anyone will admit that their senses have deceived them at least once. According to Descartes it is a mark of prudence never to place our complete trust in those who have deceived us even once. However, something seen from a distance is much more easily mistaken than something seen up close. The senses show us some things more clearly than others. Descartes then compares the ave...
