Quote by Rene Descartes, Meditation I

Let us suppose, then, that we are dreaming, and that all these particulars--namely, the opening of the eyes, the motion of the head, the forth- putting of the hands--are merely illusions; and even that we really possess neither an entire body nor hands such as we see. Nevertheless it must be admitted at least that the objects which appear to us in sleep are, as it were, painted representations which could not have been formed unless in the likeness of realities; and, therefore, that those general objects, at all events, namely, eyes, a head, hands, and an entire body, are not simply imaginary, but really existent. For, in truth, painters themselves, even when they study to represent sirens and satyrs by forms the most fantastic and extraordinary, cannot bestow upon them natures absolutely new, but can only make a certain medley of the members of different animals; or if they chance to imagine something so novel that nothing at all similar has ever been seen before, and such as is, therefore, purely fictitious and absolutely false, it is at least certain that the colors of which this is composed are real. And on the same principle, although these general objects, viz. a body, eyes, a head, hands, and the like, be imaginary, we are nevertheless absolutely necessitated to admit the reality at least of some other objects still more simple and universal than these, of which, just as of certain real colors, all those images of things, whether true and real, or false and fantastic, that are found in our consciousness (cogitatio), are formed.

Summary

This quote is an excerpt from Descartes' famous philosophical argument about the nature of reality. He suggests that even if the physical sensations we experience in dreams are illusions, there must be some fundamental objects or elements that are real, as they serve as the foundation for creating these illusions. Descartes uses the example of painted representations by artists to illustrate that even though they may combine various elements to create fantastical images, the colors they use are real. Similarly, he argues that certain basic objects like a body, eyes, head, and hands must exist because they form the basis for our perception in consciousness, regardless of whether they are imaginary or not.

By Rene Descartes, Meditation I

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