Descartes on certainty in deduction

IF 1.4 2区 哲学 Q1 HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Pub Date : 2024-05-23 DOI:10.1016/j.shpsa.2024.05.014
Jacob Zellmer
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Abstract

This article examines how deduction preserves certainty and how much certainty it can preserve according to Descartes's Rules for the Direction of the Mind. I argue that the certainty of a deduction is a matter of four conditions for Descartes. First, certainty depends on whether the conjunction of simple propositions is composed with necessity or contingency. Second, a deduction approaches the certainty of an intuition depending on how many “acts of conceiving” it requires and—third—the complexity or difficulty of the acts of thinking, which is determined by the content of the thoughts and on external factors. Fourth, certainty depends on the intellectual aptitude of the person using the deduction. A deduction lacks certainty when it relies on memory such that it is not apprehended with immediacy. However, the mental capacity and speed of a mind can be increased by training the special mental faculties of perspicacity and discernment. Increasing one's intellectual aptitude allows for more steps of a deduction to be inferred in fewer acts of conceiving, thereby helping preserve the certainty of a deduction.

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笛卡尔关于演绎法中的确定性
本文探讨了根据笛卡尔的《思维导引规则》,演绎法如何保持确定性以及它能保持多少确定性。我认为,对笛卡尔来说,演绎的确定性取决于四个条件。首先,确定性取决于简单命题的联结是由必然性还是偶然性构成的。第二,一个演绎接近直觉的确定性取决于它需要多少 "构思行为";第三,思维行为的复杂性或难度取决于思维的内容和外部因素。第四,确定性取决于使用演绎法的人的智力水平。当一个推理依赖于记忆,因而无法立即理解时,它就缺乏确定性。然而,可以通过训练敏锐性和辨别力等特殊心智能力来提高心智能力和速度。提高心智能力可以在较少的构思行为中推断出更多的推理步骤,从而有助于保持推理的确定性。
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来源期刊
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 管理科学-科学史与科学哲学
CiteScore
2.50
自引率
10.00%
发文量
166
审稿时长
6.6 weeks
期刊介绍: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science is devoted to the integrated study of the history, philosophy and sociology of the sciences. The editors encourage contributions both in the long-established areas of the history of the sciences and the philosophy of the sciences and in the topical areas of historiography of the sciences, the sciences in relation to gender, culture and society and the sciences in relation to arts. The Journal is international in scope and content and publishes papers from a wide range of countries and cultural traditions.
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