Kant's Criticisms of Descartes Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Kant's Criticisms of Descartes Deck (5)
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1
Q

How does Kant criticise Descartes in terms of predicates?

A

Kant says that existence is not a predicate because it does not add to our understanding of God e.g. i might say that someone is tall dark and handsome, but saying they exist does not add anything to the list of characteristics

2
Q

What was Kant’s second argument?

A

We must first establish the existence of something before we can say what it is like. We cannot regard something as a priori (logically necessary). For Kant, all existential statements are synthetic and require verification, not analytic (true by definition alone)

3
Q

What did Kant say about a triangle?

A

Yes, it is logically necessary for a triangle to have three sides, but it is not necessary for the triangle to exist in reality. Existence may be an intrinsic part of a Supremely Perfect Being, but that being does not have to exist in reality. We can reject both the object and its predicates.

4
Q

How did Hume criticise Descartes?

A

If we can conceive of things existing then we can also conceive of them not existing. We cannot say something ‘necessarily exists’ or define something into existence

5
Q

How did Russell criticise Descartes?

A

Existence is only meaningful if it refers to an “instance” of something. For example, we see an “instance” of cows but not unicorns. If exists was a predicate this syllogism would be true: Men exist, Santa Claus is a man, and therefore Santa Claus exists.