Time, Causality and Character in Descartes' Meditations
Parrhesia 24:107-126 (2015)
Abstract
This article explores Descartes's philosophy of time as articulated in the 'non-endurance doctrine' in the Third Meditation. I argue that what has been overlooked in prior readings of this doctrine is acknowledgement that it is articulated by a fictional character within a fictional span of time. The text, therefore, expresses a temporal reality, as well as articulating a temporal theory. I explore the temporality of the text, and the fictionality of the narrator, through the lens of Monika Fludernik's theory of experiential narrative.Author's Profile
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To a reader voyaging through the Meditations for the first time, Descartes' proofs for the existence of God can seem daunting, especially the argument of Meditation III, with its appeal to causal principles that seem arcane, and to medieval doctrines about different modes of being and degrees of reality. First-time readers are not alone in feeling bewildered. Many commentators have had the same reaction. In an attempt at charity, some of them have tried to tame the complexity of Descartes' discussion by .. [REVIEW]Lawrence Nolan & Alan Nelson - 2006 - In Stephen Gaukroger (ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Descartes' Meditations. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 2--104.
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References found in this work
Cartesian causation: Continuous, instantaneous, overdetermined.Geoffrey Gorham - 2004 - Journal of the History of Philosophy 42 (4):389-423.
Descartes and Ignatius loyola: La flèche and manresa revisited.Walter John Stohrer - 1979 - Journal of the History of Philosophy 17 (1):11-27.
