Descartes's Dreams: Imagination in the Meditations (Studies in the Humanities)

162 Pages·2006·2.691 MB·English

by  Ann Scholl

SchollAnn0820452459:SchollAnn0820452459.qxd 4/10/2012 9:18 AM Page 1
56
Ann Scholl revises the traditional understanding of
the role of imagination and sensory perception in 56
S
Descartes’s Meditations.Traditionally, Cartesian schol- c
h
o
ars have focused primarily on sensory perception as the l
l
more significant of the two “special” modes of thought. D Descartes’s Dreams
In this work, Ann Scholl describes how a better under-
e
standing of Descartes’s skepticism and his arguments s
c
a
for dualism are reached when imagination instead is
r
t
understood as the more primary of the two special e
s
modes of thought. The result is a fresh reading and ’
s

interpretation of Descartes’s most influential work. D
r
e Imagination in the Meditations
a
m
Ann Scholl received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the
s
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was formerly a
Visiting Professor of Philosophy at European
Humanities University-International and Byelorussian
State University, Minsk, Belarus. She has been an
Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the American
University in Kuwait since Fall 2005. Her scholarly
interests include research and publications in applied
ethics and feminist theory.
Ann Scholl
www.peterlang.com P E T E R L A N G P U B L I S H I N G
P
E
T
E
R

L
A
N
G
SchollAnn0820452459:SchollAnn0820452459.qxd 4/10/2012 9:18 AM Page 1
56
Ann Scholl revises the traditional understanding of
the role of imagination and sensory perception in 56
S
Descartes’s Meditations.Traditionally, Cartesian schol- c
h
o
ars have focused primarily on sensory perception as the l
l
more significant of the two “special” modes of thought. D Descartes’s Dreams
In this work, Ann Scholl describes how a better under-
e
standing of Descartes’s skepticism and his arguments s
c
a
for dualism are reached when imagination instead is
r
t
understood as the more primary of the two special e
s
modes of thought. The result is a fresh reading and ’
s

interpretation of Descartes’s most influential work. D
r
e Imagination in the Meditations
a
m
Ann Scholl received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the
s
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was formerly a
Visiting Professor of Philosophy at European
Humanities University-International and Byelorussian
State University, Minsk, Belarus. She has been an
Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the American
University in Kuwait since Fall 2005. Her scholarly
interests include research and publications in applied
ethics and feminist theory.
Ann Scholl
www.peterlang.com P E T E R L A N G P U B L I S H I N G
P
E
T
E
R

L
A
N
G
Descartes’s Dreams
Studies in the Humanities
Literature—Politics—Society

Guy Mermier
General Editor

Vol. 56

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt am Main (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Ann Scholl

Descartes’s Dreams

Imagination in the Meditations

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt am Main (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Scholl, Ann.
Descartes’s dreams: imagination in the Meditations / Ann Scholl.
p. cm. — (Studies in the humanities; vol. 56)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Descartes, René, 1596–1650. Meditationes de prima philosophia.
2. Imagination (Philosophy)—History—16th century. I. Title.
II. Studies in the humanities (New York, N.Y.); vol. 56.
B1854 .S36 194—dc21 2001034688
ISBN 0­8204­5245­9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978­1­4539­0898­3 (eBook)
ISSN 0742­6712

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek.
Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de/.

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council of Library Resources.

© 2005 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
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All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.

Printed in Germany
Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction: The Importance of Imagination 1

I. Theory of Sensory Perception 3

II. Psychophysiology of Imagination 27

III. Imagination in Meditation II 41

IV. Imagination in Meditations V and VI 71

V. Speculation That a Body Exists 105

Notes 125

Bibliography 137

Index 143

Acknowledgments

I owe a number of people for their support in writing this book. First, to my
graduate professors, especially Nelson Potter, Harry Ide, Joseph Mendola and
Robert Audi for their numerous and helpful commentaries on this work. I also
am deeply grateful to Pauline Phemister for eliciting my interest in modern
philosophy and Descartes in general. I particularly owe her thanks for inform-
ing me that understanding Descartes’s views on sensory perception and imagi-
nation first require reading and understanding scholastic theories. Unfortu-
nately, Professor Phemister was correct, and her advice served me well. I also
owe thanks to my former colleagues at Creighton University for their helpful
and numerous comments. Their support while writing this work was invalu-
able.
Portions of this work have been read at numerous conferences and I am in-
debted to the helpful comments I received from Dennis Sepper in particular
and the participants in these conferences. These conferences include The Cen-
tral States Philosophy Conference of 1999 and Minnesota State Philosophical
Association Annual Meeting of 1999. I am especially grateful for the kindly
worded corrections given to me by John Cottingham regarding his own inter-
pretations of Descartes at the International Descartes Conference in Spain of
2004. Many revisions of this text are due to the helpful conversations and
commentary I enjoyed with all participants at this conference. I have particu-
larly benefited from the commentary by Larry Nolan and his sharing his work
on Descartes’s early work of imagination. Special thanks goes to Alberto Nones
for his last-minute insightful comments and proof-reading.
I also will note how influential the writings of Alison Simmons have been
on my thoughts. Her analyses of later Scholastic works, as well as her work on
Descartes’s sensory perception, have greatly influenced both the structure and
viii Descartes’s Dreams

content of my own work, particularly of my understanding of Descartes’s
thoughts on the representational content of sensory and imaginary ideas.
Special thanks go to editors at Peter Lang, Sophie Appel and Heidi Burns,
both of whom showed great patience through my computer glitches, moving
across the world and other delays. Thanks also go to the anonymous reviewer
of the manuscript for many helpful comments and directions.
Thanks go to my family, who provided invaluable support throughout my
career. My parents never understood my choice of philosophy as a major, but
supported my choice. Their good–humored commentary, “fine, but you can’t
move home when you are finished,” I will always appreciate. My family’s un-
derstanding and support has stood me well throughout the years.
Finally, to all my friends who helped, especially the inmates at the “G”
street commune for the good food and friendship we shared. I appreciate the
tolerance of my single-minded and occasionally grumpy pursuit of my re-
search. Lou, Xiao-Mei, Brian: thanks.

Ann Scholl, PhD
International Scholar with Academic Fellowship Organization

Assistant Professor, American University Kuwait