The external world is what exists outside our minds. The internal world includes our thoughts and desires. Descartes lived in an era where the world was experiencing great change; many people were uncertain about aspects of the external world in which Descartes then aimed to bring certainty back to people. He has done this through overcoming skepticism by finding a belief in which he can be certain in. He begins by doubting dreaming by first...
The external world is what exists outside our minds. The internal world includes our thoughts and desires. Descartes lived in an era where the world was experiencing great change; many people were uncertain about aspects of the external world in which Descartes then aimed to bring certainty back to people. He has done this through overcoming skepticism by finding a belief in which he can be certain in. He begins by doubting dreaming by first doubting our senses. Such as even though we may feel positive that we are doing something, there remains the probability that we may just be dreaming. In dreams, it is said that the senses deliver us the same information as in real life. Descartes explains that when he is asleep and dreaming, the dreams appear very realistic to him but how can anyone prove that we are in fact dreaming? How often does the nocturnal quietness convince me of familiar things, for example, that I am here, dressed in my gown, sitting by the fire when I am really undressed and asleep in my bed? Hence our senses can be considered unreliable. This type of argument questions all knowledge an individual may have. Such that, we cannot distinguish between a conscious and unconscious state. Likewise either awake or asleep two plus two is four.
