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Principles of Philosophy

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Introduction

I.1–12: Doubt and the Cogito

I.8–12: A Thinking Thing

I.13–27:God's Existence

I.19–30: The Nature of God and the Validation of Clear and Distinct Perceptions

I.31–51: Sources of Error, Free Will, and Basic Ontology

I.52–59: Substances, Modes, Principle Attributes

I.60–65: Mind Body Dualism

I.66–75: The Senses

II.1–3: The Existence and nature of Material Bodies

II.10–22: Space

II.23–35: Motion

II.36–64:Causes of Motion

III.1–44: The Motion of the Heavens

III.45–266: Origins of the Universe

IV:1–187: Terrestrial Phenomena

IV.188–207: Physiology, Psychology, and Mind-Body Interaction

Important Quotations Explained

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Principles of Philosophy

Rene Descartes

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Which of the following does Descartes think should not be involved in the search for certain knowledge?

(A) Clear and distinct perceptions

(B) The senses

(D) The intellect

Which statement most accurately characterizes Descartes' attitude toward the senses?

(A) They are perfectly suited to their purpose

(B) They are best ignored

(D) They are never useful for attaining knowledge

How many substances does Descartes believe there are?

(A) One

(B) Two

(D) Innumerable

Which of the following is a substance strictly speaking?

(A) Mind

(B) Body

(D) God

What does the term "Cartesian Circle" refer to?

(A) Descartes' supposedly illicit use of clear and distinct perceptions in his proof for the existence of God

(B) The circuitous motion in the plenum

(D) Descartes' supposedly illicit use of God in his account of force

Which of the following most accurately describes Descartes' theory of planetary motion?

(A) The planets move around the earth

(B) The earth moves around the sun

(D) The vortex moves around the sun, carrying all the planets with it

Which of the following is not one of Descartes' laws of motion?

(A) The law of inertia

(B) The law of conservation of motion

(D) Motion is rectilinear

Which of the following arguments does Descartes use in order to undermine the senses?

(A) We might all be dreaming

(B) There might be an evil demon

(D) The existence of God shows that the senses cannot tell the truth

Which of the following does Descartes not use as a proof for the existence of God?

(A) Existence belongs to God's idea

(B) There must be at least as much reality in a cause as in its effect

(D) If there were no God we could never arrive at certain knowledge

What does Descartes claim is the essence of body?

(A) Shape

(B) Size

(D) Perfection

With which of the following are the senses most intimately connected?

(A) Mind

(B) Body

(D) God

Which of the following statements does not accurately describe a belief that Descartes held about God?

(A) God is absolute perfection

(B) God is a kind of thinking substance

(D) We can know God's whole nature by contemplating his perfection

Which of the following is a mode of extension?

(A) Octagonal shape

(B) An idea of a circle

(D) Sliminess

Which of the following is a mode of thought?

(A) A unicorn

(B) God

(D) Hunger

How many elements does Descartes posit?

(A) One

(B) Two

(D) Four

Does an idea have objective existence or formal existence?

(A) Objective

(B) Formal

(D) Neither

Which of the following does Descartes not think is a mode of extension?

(A) Motion

(B) Duration

(D) Size

Which of the following does Descartes believe we can know most intimately?

(A) Our bodies

(B) Physics

(D) Our minds

How are bodies individuated according to Descartes?

(A) Through motion

(B) Through extension

(D) Through the plenum

What is the difference between bodies and space according to Descartes?

(A) One is sensible and the other is not

(B) There is no difference

(D) Space is the idea of body

According to Descartes, what is the level of objective reality of the idea of a square?

(A) Infinite

(B) Finite

(D) None, ideas do not have objective reality

With which of the elements does Descartes associate light?

(A) The first

(B) The second

(D) The fourth

Which of the following phenomena does Descartes not try to explain in Part IV?

(A) Gravity

(B) Magnetism

(D) Planetary motion

Which statement best describes the relationship between mind and body on the Cartesian picture?

(A) They are forged into a single substance by God's will

(B) They are two distinct substances that form a mysterious union in the case of man

(D) They only come together in the mind of God

How many principal attributes can a substance have?

(A) One

(B) Two

(D) Innumerable

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Descartes

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