Meditations on First Philosophy 4th Meditation, Part 2: Will, Intellect, and the Possibility of Error Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes

Tags

Top Highlights

• The feeling of indifference is not a weakness in will but rather a lack of knowledge of what is the true or right course to pursue.

• But in freedom of choice, or the will, the Meditator realizes he is unlimited, and in this respect more than any other he resembles his creator.

• God's will may be greater in that it is accompanied by a greater knowledge and power and that it ranges over everything, but when considering the will in the strict sense, the Meditator concludes that his will is just as great as God's.

• but from the fact that the will has a far wider scope than the understanding

• ing. As a result, the will often passes judgments on matters that are not fully understood and toward which it is indifferent.

• , he is indifferent as to whether he should assent or deny that the mind and the body are identical and is liable to make a false judgment

• When "I" affirm or deny in cases of uncertainty, "I" will either be in error or "I" will arrive at the truth purely by chance.

• The Meditator concludes that he cannot complain that God has created him imperfectly. It is only natural that he has a finite intellect, and the will is indivisible, so it cannot be anything less than complete.

• he is only a small part of God's larger creation

• He concludes he can also avoid error completely by suspending judgment in cases where he is uncertain, and only passing judgments on clear and distinct perceptions