Philosophy Elliot Samuel Paul

Elliot Samuel Paul (Barnard College) 9/29/16

“Clarity First: Descartes on Clear and Distinct Perception”

Abstract:

Clear and distinct perception is the central concept in Descartes’s philosophy – it’s the source of all certain knowledge – but what he means by it is generally thought to be a mystery.  I argue that it’s really not mysterious.  We all know what it means to see something clearly as opposed to obscurely.  We just forget that we know it when we demand a definition.  This demand is doubly misplaced, because the meaning of ‘clear’ is best learned through examples (so a definition isn’t needed) and ‘clear’ is a ‘primitive notion’ (so a definition isn’t possible).  A distinct perception is just a clear perception ‘sharply separated’ from anything unclear.  So, clarity is a primitive concept; distinctness is defined in terms of clarity; and furthermore, I argue, clarity explains indubitability and infallibility, and thus explains certain knowledge.  In a slogan: Clarity First.