In Rene? Descartes asserts in Meditations of First Philosophy that the senses cannot be relied upon to accurately explain the world. Descartes says that he is beginning to doubt his own ideas. He concludes that these ideas are based on the senses and therefore not reliable. Descartes demonstrates in the first meditations that the senses can be used to understand things but are not sufficient to establish veracity. Descartes illustrates this point by discussing the wax, his dream, and his existence. Descartes demonstrates that the mind plays a greater role in sensing than the body.

Descartes believes that dreams can show how perceptions are deceptive. Descartes claims that dreams can demonstrate the body’s lack of senses. Usually, people who dream don’t know that they are actually dreaming. One cannot be awake if one doesn’t realize that they are sleeping. Descartes writes: “It is certain that whatever I have admitted as true up to this point, I got from my senses. The senses have been deceptive at times, and I believe it prudent not to put our trust in people who have lied to us. Descartes asserts that the senses may be experienced both in dreams and in reality. This makes it impossible to tell whether someone is awake or dreaming. You may come to the conclusion that any knowledge based on senses is suspect, and should be investigated. Descartes says that any situation can be deceiving the senses. Even an apparently realistic situation could be a figment of the imagination. Descartes’ dream is so vivid that he can almost feel the warmth from the fire. In addition, since he was led to believe by his senses that he felt warmth, it is impossible for him to trust what he feels in the real world. Descartes’ argument about his dream shows how, while senses may help us understand, they can’t determine the truth. It is possible to use the senses to help understand something, such as Descartes’s senses allowing him understand that fire was warm. The senses cannot tell if Descartes is dreaming or feeling the heat of the flame. Descartes feels warmth in his dream, but he also thinks about it while awake. This shows that the mind and the body are two different things.

Descartes says that doubt allows him to distinguish between the truth and falsehood. Descartes argues that if doubt is his only means of distinguishing between truth and falsehood, then the body cannot determine the truth. It is only possible through the thought and mind. In his Second Meditation Descartes asks, “What then will be truth?” Perhaps only the fact that everything is uncertain (Descartes 17. Descartes argues that the one thing that a person knows is that certain things are doubtful. If a person doubts, then they must exist. You must think to understand. The body is only a tool to aid in understanding. This argument can also be used to support things that cannot be known through sense experience, only intellectual experience.

Descartes also argues, using the wax argument, that the mind is separate from the body. When describing something, one’s senses can give clues on how to describe it. Descartes says that the wax has not lost its honey taste. It still retains some floral …” scent (Descartes 21, etc.). Descartes is able to learn these traits by using his five senses. He can smell the honey, so he knows that it is honey. The same idea applies to all other attributes and their corresponding sense. Descartes asserts that senses are only able to give an impression of something, but they cannot tell you what it is. Descartes continues his argument about the wax by heating it. The wax is no longer able to sense the qualities. This argument shows that the senses can determine characteristics of a substance, but not its nature. It is certain that none of my senses-based conclusions were accurate. The wax is still there, despite the name that was attached to it. The wax has not changed despite the fact that all of the qualities gained through sense have. Descartes knows that wax is the same object, even though his senses have told him otherwise. He uses rational thought. The appearance is created by the senses. The thing is not the thing when these appearances conflict. Descartes asserts that the body is the source of our senses, and not the brain. The body is telling you it’s wax and the mind is telling you it’s cold. Descartes says that the senses are not part of the object. In the example of the candle wax, “let’s concentrate our attention and see what remains once we have removed the things that do not belong to this wax. It is only something flexible, extended and mutable.” Descartes says that the wax is what makes up these traits, and not the sense experiences.

Descartes argues successfully in his Meditations about the importance of the senses to the mind, as opposed to the body. This argument is further analysed to prove that the body and mind are two separate entities. By saying that the mind and body are separate if a person uses their mind to decide something without using their bodies, they must be two different beings. Descartes effectively proves this point through his argument about the wax, himself, and the dreams. The wax represents something which is usually determined through the senses. It can then be broken down further to reveal something which is only true with the help of knowledge and the brain. Descartes was able to demonstrate that although the senses could not provide the truth, the power and knowledge of the brain can. The dream conveys the message that senses can be unreliable. We can gain a better understanding of what our senses are capable of by examining these anecdotes. This argument shows that the mind and body are two separate entities with different purposes. This is because these two entities work together to make us more aware of the world.