A 'clear' perception is analogous to an object "present to the eye's gaze" that "stimulates it with a sufficient degree of strength and accessibility"
— Descartes, René (1596-1650)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
Amsterdam
Publisher
Elzevir
Date
1644, 1647
Metaphor
A 'clear' perception is analogous to an object "present to the eye's gaze" that "stimulates it with a sufficient degree of strength and accessibility"
Metaphor in Context
Indeed there are very many people who in their entire lives never perceive anything with sufficient accuracy to enable them to make a judgement about it with certainty. A perception which can serve as the basis for a certain and indubitable judgement needs to be not merely clear but also distinct. I call a perception 'clear' when it is present and accessible to the attentive mind - just as we say that we see something clearly when it is present to the eye's gaze and stimulates it with a sufficient degree of strength and accessibility. I call a perception 'distinct' if, as well as being clear, it is so sharply separated from all other perceptions that it contains within itself only what is clear.
(Part One, p. 207-8)
(Part One, p. 207-8)
Categories
Provenance
Past Masters
Citation
Descartes, René, The Philosophical Writings of Descartes. trans. John Cottingham, Robert Stoothof, and Dugald Murdoch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).
Date of Entry
10/03/2003
