Abstract
This episode is part four of four of the lecture series [HTA 7] on René Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy, Meditations 1-3, as well as part two of two on the Third Meditation.
Primary Source
Descartes, René. Meditations On First Philosophy: With Selections from the Objections and Replies. Edited & translated by John Cottingham. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013 [1641].
Guiding Questions
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How do I know God exists, and why does it lead to the Cartesian circle?
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What is the Cartesian Circle?
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What is clarity and distinctness?
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What is the difference between objective and formal reality?
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Why must there be at least as much reality in the cause as in the effect?
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How does Descartes go from qualitative to categorical justification?
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What is the relationship between henosis and the natural light? What is the relation between henosis, the natural light, and clarity and distinctness? Do we resolve the Cartesian Circle differently if understanding is partaking of God?
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How is rationalism different from empiricism?