On 10/14/02 8:23:00 PM, Amber Lane
wrote:

>My question though is, if God
>created us as free will
>beings, and allows us to
>create our own false beliefs
>(for what ever reason), then
>how can we avoid believing
>false that we think are
>truths? If by nature we are
>flawed, then aren't we prone
>to false beliefs by our own
>actions?

Descartes thinks that even though human
beings are prone to error, they can
compensate by realizing this and trying
their best to avoid it. This means
withholding judgement when one is not
100% certain. Descartes thinks that if you
are very conservative about what you
believe, you're not likely to end up with
many false beliefs. Most people, he
thinks, end up with false beliefs due to
sloppy thinking.

Perhaps Descartes would admit that as a
flawed and sinful human being, you can
never get to 100% accuracy in your
beliefs, even if you follow his advice, but I
think he believes you can get close,
maybe in the 90% range. Descartes is
definately optimistic about what we can
know.

Prof. Borrowdale