IB Philosophy 10.3.3 Clear and Distinct Perceptions Key Definitions

The Cartesian Circle is the charge, first raised by Arnauld, that Descartes' reasoning is viciously circular. He uses clear and distinct perception to prove God's existence, then relies on God's existence to guarantee that clear and distinct perceptions are reliable.

In Descartes' epistemology, a clear and distinct perception is one in which nothing is hidden from the attending mind (clarity) and the idea is sharply separated from all others (distinctness), serving as his criterion for truth because such a perception cannot be doubted.

Epistemological foundationalism is the view that knowledge rests on basic, self-justifying beliefs from which all other justified beliefs are derived. Descartes is the paradigm foundationalist, treating the cogito as the indubitable foundation upon which all subsequent knowledge is built.

Innate ideas are concepts or principles held to be present in the mind from birth, prior to any sensory experience. Descartes argued that ideas such as God, infinity, and mathematical truths are implanted in us by a non-deceiving God and accessible through the natural light of reason alone, a doctrine standing in direct opposition to the empiricist claim that all ideas originate from experience.

Tabula rasa (Latin for "blank slate") is the philosophical thesis, associated with John Locke, that the human mind at birth contains no innate ideas or principles, and that all knowledge and character are acquired through experience.