Philosophical Works · Chapter
XLV explained
Descartes defines clear and distinct perception, explaining that for a judgment to be certain and indubitable, knowledge must be both clear (present and manifest to the attentive mind) and distinct (precise and different from all other obje
What happens
Descartes defines clear and distinct perception, explaining that for a judgment to be certain and indubitable, knowledge must be both clear (present and manifest to the attentive mind) and distinct (precise and different from all other objects, containing only what is clear).
Themes in this chapter
Reason and Method
The chapter establishes the methodological criteria for achieving certain knowledge through clear and distinct perception.
Skepticism and Certainty
Descartes defines the conditions under which perception yields indubitable judgment, addressing the problem of skepticism.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
The narrator explains the criteria for clear and distinct perception.
Key passages
“I call that clear which is present and manifest to the mind giving attention to it, just as we are said clearly to see objects when, being present to the eye looking on, they stimulate it with sufficient force, and it is disposed to regard them; but the distinct is that which is so precise and different from all other objects as to comprehend in itself only what is clear.”
A perception is clear when it is fully present and obvious to an attentive mind, like seeing an object clearly when it is right in front of open eyes. A perception is distinct when it is so exact and unlike anything else that it contains only what is clear.
Descartes uses an analogy of vision to explain the difference between clear and distinct perception.