The Three Filters and Thoughts


In René Descartes, A Discourse on the Method, one of the major arguments throughout the work is epistemology, or the examining of the thoughts one thinks and the filters through which these thoughts are formed. Descartes begs the question, are one’s thoughts ever truly objective and can one obtain a mind of being completely objective rather than being subjective. Upon reading the book and dissecting the paragraph focusing on this, there were three main filters found: influence, appetites and assumptions. The three filters stated are the inspiration if not the inception for most of one’s thoughts.

The first filter to address is influence, the word influence is generally defined as having the ability to affect one’s character, behavior, and development. First, one must establish the difference between being an influence and being influenced. One way that a person can discern if they have influence or if they are being influenced, is by beginning with doubt over your opinions and thoughts. An example of this is for one to ask where a certain thought comes from and search to find the reason they believe this. If one realizes that their thoughts are unoriginal or it is not in accordance with their other beliefs or truths then they are being influenced.  Now raising the question, is Descartes correct to distrust the filter of influence? I find Descartes to be correct to distrust influence because in A Discourse on the Method, Descartes speaks on a human’s judgement and he says, “ it is almost impossible that our judgements are as pure or as solid as they might have been if we had full use of our reason from the moment of our birth, and had been guided by that alone.” (13). Descartes implies here that teachers of various kinds having influence on one, limited their ability to make use of reason. Therefore what thoughts are a person’s own, and what was caused by a teacher? While there is validity to Descartes’ thought, the reality is that a human cannot walk through life entirely alone. They must have caretakers to feed them and bathe them when they are children and when they are older they need companionship, therefore it doesn’t appear likely for one to not have “teachers”. Furthermore it does not appear that a person can be around another and not be influenced.

The second filter to be addressed is assumptions, the definition of the word assumption, is the accepting of something to be true or certain without obtaining proof. The definition previously stated, applies very well to the argument Descartes makes throughout his work one example being, “learning whose rational foundations are no better than generally approved, and which contains no real proof” (13). Focusing on the phrase “contains no real proof” (13), Descartes seems to be of the opinion that most people believe things or think them to be true, but have no real foundation, reason, or logic behind it. Now looking further into these “truths” that people claim to believe, Descartes says they are, “not as close to the truth, composed as it is of the opinions of many different people” (13). Descartes expresses to his readers a false belief and a false knowledge among people that is not based on facts, but instead opinions.  Understanding this I am of the opinion that Descartes is correct to distrust the filter of assumptions we make. I also believe that Descartes’ hope for people to become more objective in this filter is realistic, people should push themselves to form thoughts and opinions for themselves rather than blindly trusting another’s opinion or even blindly trusting their presumptions about a subject.

The third and final filter to be addressed is, appetites, one of the definitions of appetites is, a strong desire or liking for something. Descartes speaks on appetites when he states, “for a long time we were governed by our appetites and our teachers (the former being often in conflict with the latter,” (13) suggesting that not only are the young people controlled by their appetites, but their teachers are controlled by their appetites as well. He then continues on to say, “ with neither giving the best advice in every case” (13), this suggests that neither of these filters are leading these young people on the best pathway. Expounding on the passages just given, the “appetites” that Descartes speaks of are not necessarily good or bad in general, but appetites are something that people have a certain weakness for. Understanding this weakness or self-indulgence for an appetite it can be understood that one might not truly consider the good and the bad of this appetite, because they do not want to be without it. Next addressing the question, is Descartes correct to distrust the filter of appetite, I think that Descartes is correct because often a human’s appetite is not necessarily virtuous in all manners.An appetite is not something that one truly considers and studies to find the true reason behind, rather one follows it subconsciously. Finally, addressing the reality of attempting to be objective when handling one’s appetites, I believe that it depends on the determination one has to make use of their thought and judgement but overall I do not believe most would be able to be entirely objective from their appetites.

In conclusion,  René Descartes, A Discourse on the Method, proposed a thoughtful and logical argument on the topic of epistemology. Upon expounding on the evidence Descartes presents within A Discourse on the Method, Descartes is correct in his opinion to be distrustful of the filters that are placed on one’s thoughts because these filters come from fallible human opinions, and to summarize what Descartes states in his work, neither of them give the best advice in every situation. While Descartes made several well stated and logical, arguments for why one should be objective, I don’t believe that one would be able to be completely objective about all things. 

Works Cited
Descartes René, and Ian Maclean. A Discourse on the Method. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

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  2. I believe that understanding Descartes’s process of thinking is difficult to comprehend. However, in your essay, you gave your readers a great and more clear explanation of what he was trying to say. In your essay, you address the question of can one’s thoughts be completely objective rather than being subjective? You wrote that there are a few filters that determine how our thoughts are created. The first filter you mention is influence. You gave us a quote from Descartes that says he believes our judgments are not as solid because of the affect influence has on our thoughts or judgments. Alyssa Stagner also speaks on this point in her own way. She writes that everyone has there own system of approaching situations or making decisions. She states that there are some people who follow their own reasoning, and some “...who allow opinions to change their course of action.” (https://alyssastagner.blogspot.com/) In their thoughts, everyone takes into consideration previous experiences and other influences. I think this goes right along with your paper. All of the things someone has been through directly impacts a person’s thought process and how they make judgments. You wrote on how other things can filter our thoughts, but I think influence is the major point. I agree with you that no one can ever be truly objective. This is an amazing paper and it gave me a clearer picture of Descartes's writing!

    Alyssa Stagner’s Blog https://alyssastagner.blogspot.com/

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  3. Greetings Erin! Thank you so much for your essay! I enjoyed reading it and I thought you presented some interesting thoughts! I was particularly intrigued by the first two “filters” you mentioned—influence and assumption—and your analysis of their influence on man’s thoughts and reason. For awhile now I have been thinking of connections between Descartes and Socrates and, when I read your blog, I couldn’t help but think of connections between your first two points and Socrates’ allegory of the cave in Plato’s Republic. Your question of “what thoughts are a person’s own, and what were caused by a teacher?” seems to relate to Socrates’ description of the man shackled to the chair. He has been tied there his whole life, gaze forced on the wall in front of him, unaware that his entire world consists of mere shadows and flickering false images. The bonds and the shadows on the walls are all influencing him, so much so that they are all that he knows, and because of their vast influence on him, he assumes that what he sees and believes is true, when all along what he takes for “true reality is nothing other than the shadows of those artifacts” (Plato 515c). So, considering this allegory and your points on the obstacles to human reason, it is obvious that these obstacles present a problem. No one (that I know of) wants to stare at shadows in a dark room when there is light to help us see instead. But, thankfully, if we continue reading the allegory, we discover the solution to this dilemma. We find that the allegory concerns the effects of education on the human mind (Plato 514a) and that the way to leave the cave behind is to pursue higher knowledge and truth, always searching for clarity and deeper understanding, and always willing to struggle with the pain of expanding our horizons and wrestling with new ideas. From what I can see, the life application here is to consider what you believe (look at whether you’re staring at a wall), consider that it may be wrong (wonder about the shadows), search and reason into it (discover the shadows for what they are), always be willing to consider new ideas (leave the wall behind and struggle up and out of the cave), and grow from all your experiences (come into the light of day). Thanks again for your essay and I hope you have a great day! :)

    Republic. Plato. Translated by C.D.C. Reeve. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 2004.

    ~Peyton Osborn

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