The Provocative Matter of Existence

The Provocative Matter of Existence

Rene Descartes, John Locke, and Bertrand Russell all have doubts about our knowledge of the existence of material things. Descartes believes that our senses may be sufficient enough to understand what matter is assuming it's actually there. Locke claims that our senses may make up descriptions of matter, but these are only interpretations and there is no real end to figuring out material bodies in that things can always be broken down further in description. Russell believes that the existence of material bodies can be interpreted through our senses, assuming, of course, that matter actually is in existence. However, the most logical and compelling argument is that made by John Locke in his book, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding because one must experience something in order to understand its purpose and therefore question whether material bodies are answers to questions of description and whether there is an actual way to determine the existence of material things.

In his publication, Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes argues that one's senses ought not to be trusted. This skepticism of the senses roots from the idea that he may very well be trapped within an elaborate concept as a dream or he may be, at the very moment, deceived by either a "malicious demon" or God himself (Descartes, 15). He however goes on to assert the he himself must exist based on the premise that he is able to perceive and foremost think. He then considers the thought of God, which is so extreme as model of perfection, that he himself could not have just conjured up (Descartes, 14-17). This in turn allows him to judge that what he perceives as clear and distinguishable is assured by God, which lays the grounds for arguing the existence of matter. Descartes divides the outlook of matter into two distinct types of characteristics: the primary and the secondary. The primary characteristics are composed of physical qualities whereas secondary characteristics are made up of what we "judge" an object to truly be (Descartes 20-21). According to Descartes, although our senses cannot be trusted, they still allocate some sort of perception, and when combined with thought and thorough regard of the limits of imagination, one can achieve understanding of supposed, or true, matter (Descartes, 54-62).

The theory of the existence of material bodies proposed by John Locke in An Essay Concerning Human