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Journal of the History of Ideas.
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Descartes's Early Doctrineof
Clear and DistinctIdeas
StephenGaukroger
PhilosopherssinceArnauldhaveoftenfoundthedoctrineofclearand
distinctideas, as it figuresin workssuch as the Meditations,distinctly
odd and implausible.My aim in thispaper is to show thatthe original
versionofthedoctrine,whichDescartesheldup to 1628,is verydifferent
fromthe doctrinethatis defendedin Meditations.I shall arguethatthe
earlierdoctrineis bothmoreplausibleand morerestricted thanthelater
metaphysical doctrine.It is nota doctrinethatderivesfromconsiderations
aboutourcognitiverelationto theexternalworldbutonethatis concerned
ratherwiththeevidentialqualityofimages,notone whichconcernsitself
so muchwithabsolutecertainty as withconviction, and thementalimages
it workswithare not the highlyabstractideas of the laterwritingsbut
vividpictorialrepresentations. Nevertheless, itis thisearlierdoctrinethat
developsintothe laterdoctrineof clear and distinctideas, and I believe
thata numberof the severeproblemsthatthe laterdoctrinewas subject
to derivefromthe anomalousnatureof its origins.I shall not concern
myselfwiththedevelopment and transformation ofthedoctrineafterthe
abandonmentof theRegulae in 1628. A studyof the earlyversionindi-
cates, however,that the later one is a doomed attemptto converta
good but limitedrhetorical-psychological criterionof what constitutes
compellingevidenceinto a criterionwhich purportsto guaranteeour
cognitivegraspagainsthyperbolicdoubt.Moreover,the pictorialnature
of the imagesto whichthe earlydoctrineis directedmilitatesagainst
the view,encouragedby Descarteshimselfand stillwidelyacceptedby
commentators, thatthe doctrineof clear and distinctideas derivesfrom
reflectionuponmathematics. In fact,as I shallshow,in so faras theearly
doctrinehas a specificbearinguponmathematics, it is actuallyin conflict
withit. But evenifthetwowerein agreement, thesourceofthedoctrine
certainlydoes not lie in mathematics.The source,as I shall show, is
ultimately rhetorical-psychological.
The Regulae ad directionem ingenii,whichwerenot publisheduntil
afterDescartes'sdeath,wereonce generallythoughtto have been com-
posedin 1628.Therehave,however,alwaysbeenthosewhohavebelieved
585
1992byJOURNAL
Copyright OF THE HISTORYOF IDEAS,INC.
586 StephenGaukroger
andtheDoctrineofClearand DistinctIdeas
Intuitus
in theEarlyRegulae
"AT").
365 (hereafter
588 StephenGaukroger
Thereare strikingparallelsherewithDescartes'sdoctrineofclearand
distinctideas. Justas Aristotleand Quintilianare concernedwiththe
vividnessand particularityoftheimagesemployedby theorator,drama-
or
tist, lawyer, so Descartesis concernedwiththeclarityand distinctness
of thementalimageshe refersto as "ideas." In bothcases thereis some
variationin terminology-Quintilian talksofbothvividnessand particu-
larity,and vividnessand palpabilityand Descartes of clarityand dis-
Wewhoseektodevelopevident anddistinctknowledgeofthesethingsinsiston
Arithmeticians,
thesedistinctions. on theotherhand,are content to findthe
eveniftheyhaveno graspofhowit follows
resultsought, fromwhathasbeen
given,butinfactitis inthiskindofgraspalonethatscience[scientia]
consists.30
28 AT, x, 455-56.
29 AT, x, 456-57.
30 AT, x, 458.
600 StephenGaukroger
a b
a b
andtheresultis c.
ab byc,
Again,ifwe wishto multiply
ab
figure:
in orderto obtainforabc thefollowing
ab
Conclusion
starting
op. cit.,is an indispensable
33 The accountoftheseissuesin ch. 6 of Schuster,
point for furtherwork on these topics,althoughhe sees the questionin termsof an
ofmathematics,
ontologicallegitimation whereasI see it in termsofan appeal to a notion
of representationderivedfromthe rhetorical-psychological tradition.
602 StephenGaukroger
ofSydney.
University