Philosophical Works · Chapter
CCIV explained
Descartes argues that for phenomena not perceived by the senses, it is sufficient to propose causes that could produce them, without needing to determine the actual means used by the Supreme Maker.
What happens
Descartes argues that for phenomena not perceived by the senses, it is sufficient to propose causes that could produce them, without needing to determine the actual means used by the Supreme Maker. He compares this to an artisan making two different clocks that appear the same externally, and notes that Aristotle himself only aimed to show that things could be as he explained them.
Themes in this chapter
Reason and Method
Descartes defends his method of proposing possible causes for natural phenomena without claiming certainty about the actual mechanisms.
Skepticism and Certainty
Acknowledges the limits of human knowledge in discerning the specific means God used to create the world.
Characters to notice
- René Descartes
Author of the argument that hypothetical causes are sufficient for explaining natural phenomena.
- Aristotle
Cited as precedent for only requiring that explanations show how things could be, not how they actually are.
- God
Referred to as the Supreme Maker who has infinite means to produce natural phenomena.
Key passages
“That, touching the things which our senses do not perceive, it is sufficient to explain how they can be, [and that this is all that aristotle has essayed].”
For things we cannot sense, it is enough to show how they might exist, which is all Aristotle attempted.
Descartes defends the sufficiency of hypothetical explanations for imperceptible phenomena.
“I most freely concede this; and I believe that I have done all that was required, if the causes I have assigned are such that their effects accurately correspond to all the phenomena of nature, without determining whether it is by these or by others that they are actually produced.”
I fully agree; I think I have met the requirement if my proposed causes produce effects matching all natural phenomena, without needing to decide which specific causes God actually used.
Descartes accepts that multiple causal explanations may fit the same observations.