Explain Descartes skeptical argument according to a prompt - Term Paper Example

This lack of insight forms the basis of the argument as the mediator notices that there are certain instances when he is convinced he is awake and surrounded by real objects but he is in fact sleeping and dreaming. Descartes takes the lack of insight to be an outcome of sense perception and dreams being composed of the same content. This can be noted when the mediator argues that he is awake since everything is clear and distinct then he backtracks and reminds himself that the dreamscape can be deceiving as it always seems as clear and distinct during that moment in time (Descartes 33).

The dream argument however accepts that although the present sensations and perceptions could be from a dream, they are however drawn from experiences when awake. The mediator compares this to a painter who creates a fantasy image of a mermaid, which at its basic level is composed of composite parts present in the real world, that is, a woman and a fish. Thus the final important aspect of the dream argument as noted by the mediator is that although he cannot trust composite things, he has to trust the simple and universal parts that make a whole such as size, quantity, shape and time (Descartes 34).

This means that studies based on basic things such as geometry and arithmetic are trustworthy while those based on composite items such as medicine and astrology cannot be trusted. From the dream argument we can delineate two important facts. First is that dreams have an inexhaustible ability to mimic the real world and secondly, whether dreaming or awake, the clearest thoughts of intellect remain uncompromised. While Descartes dream argument may have been valid in the 21st century, the current conditions make its applicability suspect.

Scientists have developed a sensory module that detects when our sense impressions are caused by objects and how accurately those impressions are.