Bouwsmas Argument in Descartes Evil Genius - Literature review Example

Explain Descartes’ evil demon hypothesis and how Bouwsma’s argument in “Descartes Evil Genius” applies to this skeptical hypothesis. Does Bouwsma’s argument succeed in refuting this hypothesis? Through the First Meditations, in his endeavor to be justified in the light of the method of radical doubt, Descartes introduces the hypothesis with a deceiver in the form of an evil demon who weaves illusions to entice one into considering an external world which would be perceived by the senses once the perceiver is successfully misled. The hypothesis is on the assumption that in truth, no external world exists nor the senses of sight and touch or any other relevant senses that could be used for the perception of such physical world. Since this is the case, the rest of the world including the body Descartes is made of with all visible entities that can be felt, at the same time, would be part of the illusory dimension which the evil deceiver has invented. It is on this ground that Bouwsma decides to investigate the nature of Descartes’ demon who, according to him, takes on the constant interest of generating illusions the demon boasts off as difficult to contradict. Bouwsma primarily attempts to examine what makes the evil genius build confidence on his deceptive creation as well as the experience of being deceived and put into the realm and challenge of deception. On responding to Descartes’ argument via the evil demon hypothesis, Bouwsma necessitates the presence of a character that would be designated in the sphere of deception and correspondingly react to the tests over which his sense perceptions are given. To accomplish this task, Bouwsma presents two possibilities of encounter with the demon through a hypothetical Tom who would assume the position of a doubter. With the first condition, Tom demonstrates the capacity to detect an illusion when he manages to recognize that paper flowers are not real flowers based on their composition. Tom’s recognition is intrinsic and brings him to distinguish one tangible object from the other so that he is not deceived to believe that paper flowers are indeed flowers. In an argument of presenting the paper world or one in which Tom would go about exhausting his energies to figure out how far has the evil genius gone in testing his credulity. It turns out that in the course of unravelling the mystery of the initial argument where the demon ‘tries to mislead Tom into thinking what is not’, Tom finds himself caught in the struggle between his original context or paradigm of knowing what is or otherwise and the trickery that blends with such an understanding. This occurs in stages from the yester moment of seeing a bowl of flowers which, in the belief the evil genius urges for him to dwell in, must be true. Of course, it would not make much sense if Tom himself were to be someone that does not think or ponder through the situation of entrapment, for the constancy of his acceptance of the deception which appears honestly real would resolve to a point when there is nothing left to argue about. If this happens, nevertheless, the deceiver may not boast more than having Tom believe in paper illusion throughout his lifetime, for Tom in this scenario can be seen to have not evolved into thought or rational shift of perspective that should serve to shake the demon off his pride or disposition. It were as if the hypothesis is right enough on its own without a suitable measure of test, excluding variable factors and merely holding on to what is constant. For Bouwsma, this is not how it should go as he admits to indulging in the vessel of fantasy in which Tom, though void of basic senses, is not the constant sort of being who remains a dummy of the evil genius day by day. Here, Tom steps over the border of illusions and starts to scrutinize and become gradually acquainted to his consciousness where the logic of all things, great and small, resides. When Tom approaches the table of flowers across the room, there emerges an apparent culmination to reality that those are not flowers yet instead of being convinced immediately, she proceeds in the manner of getting troubled, looking away, and looking again so as to affirm a consistent picture. He yearns to find out the bothersome difference between today and yesterday or between doubt and conviction, respectively, then little by little, Tom peels off the layers of illusory work and crosses from flower to paper, the image of fact. Carefully noting concrete details of his encounter in sequence – no juice oozed from grapes, Milly is a doll, bowl does not break on dropping, windowpane is drawing – he won’t cease until resolution is attained such that undisputed answers are yielded at. Exclaiming “paper flowers, paper Milly, paper sky!” after a cognitive battle, has finally brought the evil genius to his defeat. Illusions are structured by the genius demon in such fashion as to discard any possibility or hint of reality and such dreamlike state bears the purpose of keeping Tom from recognizing differences which Bouwsma further extends to the second adventure. At another instance, the deceiver is found to promote the reverse of the first setting wherein the external environment is absent though the project adheres to the same idea and objective of deceiving Tom, this time, to acknowledge nothing for something. Hence, the second argument or journey that would require Tom’s response is designed in the absence of flowers, Milly, paper, or anything crude wherein dream properties comprise an illusion rather than paper components. Abstract replaces concrete as nothing is assumed for something but still, Tom would deal with such illusion just as before and he will be mistaken amidst thoughtful efforts of seeking to be resolved. Bouwsma signifies “it is necessary then to see to it that there are none of these things” or those objects of the first adventure so that Tom would be wrong on supposing they exist for basically, there is nothing. He goes on to describe the setting that “there was nothing but Tom’s mind, a stream of seemings and of words to make the seemings seem no seemings” and this makes the evil genius penetrate Tom’s pineal gland so as to experience the same set of perceptions which Tom possesses. Then the demon begins to confuse Tom as he functions being a part of Tom’s faculties so that once he calls something to mind out of recognition, a second voice coming from the deceiver renders interrogative what Tom treats as declarative, firsthand. Eventually, Tom thinks thoroughly relating his first reaction to the immediate confusion set by the intimate company of deception. Arguing in the process, Tom reasons out of the justice in his personal findings even if the tempter says “Your flowers are nothing but illusions.” Neither startled nor amazed, however, Tom responds by demonstrating “here are the flowers and here, in the mirror, is an illusion.” Automatically, he is refuted as the demon tells him what might seem as objects in the side of illusion only looks like the actual ones but Tom, knowing how logical his experience has been with the seeming illusion speaks of that experience alone and explores the truth in it as perceived by him. In addition, Tom is not asleep, therefore what he claims as something cannot originate out of nothing and the evil genius is bound to accept and understand this fact, having lodged in the pineal spot of his subject. Then again, the deceiving entity is left in silence for the last words of favor are Tom’s. As a result, Tom is not deceived and by him, Bouwsma is able to invalidate the requirement of a deceiving demon in Descartes’ proposition. Under both circumstances, Bouwsma exhibits the principle behind the ‘seed of suspicion’ which works for Tom whose frame of reference is a former knowledge of truth from which to cast the necessary recognition rather than skepticism. Thus, regardless of the illusions used in the process and the intelligent manipulations by the evil genius to triumph with the self-imposed scheme of deception, every other Tom cannot be deceived as long as the cognitive potential with distinction is applied in order to realize and identify the unreal from its counterpart with certainty. Because Bouwsma, through Tom, has stayed long enough to relish the substance of deception, the protagonist may be claimed to have consumed the available resources by which to end up declaring “Cogito me papyrum esse, ergo sum” that indicates enlightenment and triumph of consciousness upon all deceitful wits. To this extent, the evil genius has not been able to reverse Tom’s path in reasoning on the basis of executing his inherent ability to identify the material comprising the deceit of illusions in not just one but several instances until the boasting of demon is put to silence. On the other hand, the second argument takes a more serious account of Descartes’ statement: “And all other external things are nought but illusions” projected by the evil genius yet Tom undergoes an exhibition of ‘what exactly is’ not solely by himself since the tempter adopts to the sight, smell, hearing, and touch by the same body parts Tom has. So, the evil genius is directed to his own trap for he is unable to oppose Tom illogically, agreeing as he must by evidence. Being one with Tom and his senses implies converging to the truth materialized by these senses so the deceiver settles at no other possible saving choice than comprehend the meaninglessness of the illusions he has built. Read More