Outline of the “Wax Argument”
In Descartes’ meditation, he proposes an argument for his inability to trust his senses using the concept of wax. We shall analyze this argument in respect to its relationship between the mind and the body. This argument is illustrative of his uncertainty of the body and supremacy of the mind. He uses the wax as a representative of the body. Both the wax and the body are extended stuff, which exist in the material world. The goal of Descartes’ meditation is to gain an understanding of the physical substances, making this argument a critical analogy towards his point. I will structure my paper as follows. I will first lay the premise of his argument derived from the previous meditation. In the next section, I will discuss his argument and its implications regarding the senses. Finally, I will draw upon Descartes conclusions and direction he must take from there to obtain his overall goal of the meditations.
I will begin by discussing how Descartes claim is intimately connected with his ideas of the second meditations. By the end of the first meditations Descartes has engaged in hyperbolic doubt and is questioning his ability to trust his senses. He notes that in the past his senses have misled him. Thus, he is not fully capable of trusting his senses to illustrate his point, Descartes uses a piece of wax to talk about the distinction between the ability of the mind and the body to perceive. He examines this piece of wax and describes the properties that are associated with it. These properties that he discusses are all ones that are brought about through uses of his senses; the taste of the honey, the smell of the comb, the appearance of it, even the sound that is made upon taping on it. This substance and all of these properties that it embodies are perceived by Descartes to be wax. He then brings this wax to a fire and watches as these properties begin to deform before his eyes. “ But, while I am speaking, let it be placed near...