For an ontological comprehension of the clear and distinct in the Cartesian Meditations - DOI: 10.4025/actascihumansoc.v31i2.6553

Abstract

The present reflection intends to approach, from an ontological point of view, the notion of clear and distinct in Cartesian thought, more specifically in the scope of Meditations on First Philosophy, although in the course of the study other works will provide support. Taking the same negative path as Meditations, we will investigate in the beginning what is not clear and distinct so that, in the next moment, we observe more sharply what is. Because we understand that the clear and distinct is the only criterion able to provide the subject with the discernment of truth through the verification of evidence, we also understand that it can be one of the nuclear concepts of the modern metaphysics inaugurated by Descartes. To shed light on the subject, we will use some notes by Heidegger about Cartesian thought exposed in the second volume of his work Nietzsche, in which the German thinker will problematize about the cogitate with a profound and innovating look.