Crash Course 2: Philosophy., 05a. Cartesian Skepticism - Neo, Meet Rene. Part 1/2.

05a. Cartesian Skepticism - Neo, Meet Rene. Part 1/2.

Crash Course Philosophy is brought to you by Squarespace.

Squarespace: Share your passion with the world. A film for your philosophical consideration: The Matrix.

You gotta remember the, uh, the humans floating in vats of KY jelly? Tubes and wires keeping them alive, stimulating their brains, to make them believe that they were experiencing the real world – the world we all think we know? Well, almost-20-year-old spoiler alert here: some of them come to find out that the real world was a desolate wasteland, and the lives everyone thought they were living were just fabrications fed into their brains.

A select few were ‘rescued' from the illusion, but some of them were so unhappy in the real world that they chose to return to illusion.

But Neo -- and the others who chose to stay and fight --- were the philosophical heroes of the movie, choosing truth at the cost of comfort and happiness. After watching The Matrix, you might've found yourself wondering: Could this be true?

Could we possibly be stuck in a dream world of someone else's making, with no way to tell that our “reality” isn't real at all? If so, you're not the first person to have wondered about these things. In fact, the original Neo?

The guy who really went into battle against the matrix of illusion, in order to defend the Truth? He was a 17th century mathematician. Named Rene. [Theme Music]

Last time, we talked about Plato, and his belief that the ordinary reality of the material world is only a shadowy approximation of Ultimate Reality.

Socrates, meanwhile, who was widely believed to be the wisest man in Athens, fretted about how little he knew. Philosophers spend a lot of time obsessing about knowledge, wishing they knew more, and worrying that they're wrong about what they think they know. They even, if you remember from the first episode, have a fancy name for the study of knowledge – epistemology.

The philosopher who gets the gold star for taking this how-do-I-know-what-I-know paranoia to astonishing levels is the early modern philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, Rene Descartes. When you watch The Matrix, you should congratulate the Wachowskis for giving us such a great sci-fi adventure story.But you should also remember that the archetype of the story actually has its roots all the way back in the writings of Descartes, in the early 1600s.

For a story like The Matrix to get off the ground, the audience has to be willing to entertain some level of skepticism.

And a skeptic is someone who questions whether it's possible to know anything with certainty. And Descartes was the mac daddy of all skeptics. He was so skeptical, named a form of skepticism after him – Cartesian Skepticism! Why was Descartes so skeptical?

Well, he realized that many of the beliefs he used to hold were actually false. We all go through this; it's part of what we call growing up. Learning the horrible truth about Santa and the tooth fairy. That you can't actually buy everything you want and need for just $100. That your parents don't really have all the answers. But realizing that he used to believe things that were false really got Descartes to thinking. Because: When he believed those things, he didn't realize they were false. So what if some of the things he still believed were also false, and he just hadn't realized it yet?

How could he know that his beliefs were true? Well, after a bit of a freak out, Descartes realized that the only way to make sure he wasn't holding any false beliefs was to disbelieve everything. At least temporarily. He offered this as an analogy: Imagine you have a basket of apples, and you're concerned that some of the apples might be rotten.

Since the rot could spread and ruin the fresh apples, the only way to make sure there's no rot in the basket is to dump out all the fruit, inspect each apple in turn, and return only the fresh apples to the basket. Knowing that, just like rotten fruit, a rotten idea can spread and infect all the ideas around it, Descartes up-ended the apple basket of his beliefs and decided to start from scratch. If he examined each possible belief carefully, and only accepted those about which there could be no doubt, then he'd know he was believing only true things.

So, Descartes began the arduous task of examining his beliefs one by one. He started with empirical beliefs – things we come to know directly through the use of our senses. And many of us think that our senses are the most reliable source of information. If I can see it, and hear it, touch it, taste it, smell it, I must know it, right? Not so much.

Descartes pointed out that our senses fail us all the time. You rush to catch up to a friend and realize, as she turns around, that your eyes played some tricks on you, and you've just tapped the shoulder of a perfect stranger. Food tastes wrong when you're sick. Drink too much and you feel like the room is spinning. Water that's room temperature feels hot when you come inside after playing in the snow. The list goes on – you can probably think of countless times when your senses gave you faulty information.

And once you realize that, how can you ever trust your senses again? And for Descartes, disbeliever of everything, iit got worse. Have you ever had a dream so vivid you thought you were awake? You've probably had a dream that you were dreaming, or dreamed that you woke up from a dream, but in fact were still in the dream.

Not everyone has had these experiences, but many of us have, and given that we don't always know that we're dreaming while it's happening... HOW DO WE KNOW WE'RE NOT DREAMING RIGHT NOW? Maybe you just think you're watching Crash Course, but in fact, you're cozied up in bed, dreaming about me.

Which, hey, like, who could blame you? But really, when you think about it, can you be SURE it's not the case? Now, you might be thinking, ok, sure, I probably deceive myself from time to time, without knowing I'm doing it. But dreams end. And when I wake up, I realize that what I thought I was experiencing was all in my head. And the same is true for when my senses let me down.

Those are just temporary instances, isolated to a particular situation. As soon as the situation changes, I can realize that my experience was false. This quality – the ability to check in with yourself and figure out that you're experiencing a deception – describes what Descartes called local doubts.

Those are doubts about a particular sense experience, or some other occurrence at a particular point in time.

Step out of that point, and you can check to determine if you've been deceived.

05a. Cartesian Skepticism - Neo, Meet Rene. Part 1/2. 05a. Escepticismo cartesiano - Neo, conoce a René. Parte 1/2. 05a.デカルト的懐疑 - ネオ、ルネに会う。パート1/2. 05a. 데카르트 회의론 - 네오, 르네를 만나다. 1/2부. 05a. Cartesiaans scepticisme - Neo, ontmoet René. Deel 1/2. 05a. Kartezjański sceptycyzm - Neo, poznaj Rene. Część 1/2. 05a. Картезианский скептицизм - Нео, познакомься с Рене. Часть 1/2. 05a. Картезіанський скептицизм - Нео, знайомся, Рене. Частина 1/2. 05a. 笛卡尔怀疑论 - Neo，遇见 Rene。第 1/2 部分。

Crash Course Philosophy is brought to you by Squarespace.

Squarespace: Share your passion with the world. A film for your philosophical consideration: The Matrix.

You gotta remember the, uh, the humans floating in vats of KY jelly? |||||||||cuves||| Помните, как люди плавали в чанах с желе KY? Tubes and wires keeping them alive, stimulating their brains, to make them believe that they were experiencing the real world – the world we all think we know? Well, almost-20-year-old spoiler alert here: some of them come to find out that the real world was a desolate wasteland, and the lives everyone thought they were living were just fabrications fed into their brains. |||||||||||||||||||||désert|||||||||||||||

A select few were ‘rescued' from the illusion, but some of them were so unhappy in the real world that they chose to return to illusion.

Could we possibly be stuck in a dream world of someone else’s making, with no way to tell that our “reality” isn’t real at all? ¿Podríamos estar atrapados en un mundo de ensueño creado por otros, sin forma de saber que nuestra "realidad" no es real? If so, you’re not the first person to have wondered about these things. In fact, the original Neo?

The guy who really went into battle against the matrix of illusion, in order to defend the Truth? He was a 17th century mathematician. Named Rene. [Theme Music]

Last time, we talked about Plato, and his belief that the ordinary reality of the material world is only a shadowy approximation of Ultimate Reality.

Socrates, meanwhile, who was widely believed to be the wisest man in Athens, fretted about how little he knew. |||||||||sage||||s'inquiétait||||| Philosophers spend a lot of time obsessing about knowledge, wishing they knew more, and worrying that they’re wrong about what they think they know. Los filósofos pasan mucho tiempo obsesionados con el conocimiento, deseando saber más y preocupándose por estar equivocados sobre lo que creen saber. They even, if you remember from the first episode, have a fancy name for the study of knowledge – epistemology. Eles até, se você se lembra do primeiro episódio, têm um nome chique para o estudo do conhecimento – epistemologia.

The philosopher who gets the gold star for taking this how-do-I-know-what-I-know paranoia to astonishing levels is the early modern philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, Rene Descartes. O filósofo que recebe a estrela de ouro por levar essa paranóia do tipo como-eu-sei-o-que-sei a níveis surpreendentes é o filósofo, cientista e matemático do início da era moderna, René Descartes. When you watch The Matrix, you should congratulate the Wachowskis for giving us such a great sci-fi adventure story.But you should also remember that the archetype of the story actually has its roots all the way back in the writings of Descartes, in the early 1600s. |||||||féliciter||Wachowski||||||||||||||||||archétype|||||||||||||||||||| Quando você assiste Matrix, você deve parabenizar os Wachowski por nos dar uma história de aventura de ficção científica tão boa. Mas você também deve se lembrar que o arquétipo da história realmente tem suas raízes nos escritos de Descartes, no início dos anos 1600.

For a story like The Matrix to get off the ground, the audience has to be willing to entertain some level of skepticism. |||||||se mettre||||||||||||||| Para que una historia como Matrix despegue, el público tiene que estar dispuesto a mantener cierto nivel de escepticismo. Para uma história como Matrix decolar, o público deve estar disposto a entreter algum nível de ceticismo. Для того чтобы история, подобная "Матрице", получила распространение, зрители должны быть готовы к некоторому уровню скептицизма.

And a skeptic is someone who questions whether it’s possible to know anything with certainty. ||sceptique|||||||||||| E um cético é alguém que questiona se é possível saber algo com certeza. 怀疑论者就是质疑是否有可能确切地知道任何事物的人。 And Descartes was the mac daddy of all skeptics. |||||papa|||sceptiques E Descartes era o pai mac de todos os céticos. He was so skeptical, named a form of skepticism after him – Cartesian Skepticism! Ele era tão cético que batizou uma forma de ceticismo em sua homenagem - ceticismo cartesiano! Why was Descartes so skeptical? Por que Descartes era tão cético?

Well, he realized that many of the beliefs he used to hold were actually false. Bem, ele percebeu que muitas das crenças que costumava ter eram na verdade falsas. We all go through this; it’s part of what we call growing up. Todos nós passamos por isso; faz parte do que chamamos de crescer. Learning the horrible truth about Santa and the tooth fairy. ||||||||dent| Aprendendo a terrível verdade sobre o Papai Noel e a fada do dente. That you can’t actually buy everything you want and need for just $100. Que você não pode realmente comprar tudo o que deseja e precisa por apenas US$ 100. 事实上，你不可能只花 100 美元就买到你想要和需要的一切。 That your parents don’t really have all the answers. Que seus pais realmente não têm todas as respostas. 你的父母实际上并不知道所有问题的答案。 But realizing that he used to believe things that were false really got Descartes to thinking. Mas perceber que ele costumava acreditar em coisas que eram falsas realmente fez Descartes pensar. Because: When he believed those things, he didn’t realize they were false. Porque: Quando ele acreditou nessas coisas, ele não percebeu que eram falsas. So what if some of the things he still believed were also false, and he just hadn’t realized it yet? E daí se algumas das coisas em que ele ainda acreditava também fossem falsas e ele ainda não tivesse percebido?

How could he know that his beliefs were true? Como ele poderia saber que suas crenças eram verdadeiras? Well, after a bit of a freak out, Descartes realized that the only way to make sure he wasn’t holding any false beliefs was to disbelieve everything. |||||||||||||||||||||||||douter de| Bem, depois de um certo surto, Descartes percebeu que a única maneira de ter certeza de que não estava tendo nenhuma crença falsa era desacreditar de tudo. At least temporarily. Pelo menos temporariamente. He offered this as an analogy: Imagine you have a basket of apples, and you’re concerned that some of the apples might be rotten. Ele ofereceu isso como uma analogia: imagine que você tem uma cesta de maçãs e está preocupado que algumas das maçãs possam estar podres.

Since the rot could spread and ruin the fresh apples, the only way to make sure there’s no rot in the basket is to dump out all the fruit, inspect each apple in turn, and return only the fresh apples to the basket. ||pourriture|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Como a podridão pode se espalhar e arruinar as maçãs frescas, a única maneira de garantir que não haja podridão na cesta é despejar todas as frutas, inspecionar cada maçã e devolver apenas as maçãs frescas à cesta. 由于腐烂会蔓延并毁掉新鲜苹果，因此确保篮子里没有腐烂的唯一方法是倒出所有水果，依次检查每个苹果，然后将新鲜的苹果放回篮子里。 Knowing that, just like rotten fruit, a rotten idea can spread and infect all the ideas around it, Descartes up-ended the apple basket of his beliefs and decided to start from scratch. Sabendo que, assim como uma fruta podre, uma ideia podre pode se espalhar e infectar todas as ideias ao seu redor, Descartes virou a cesta de maçãs de suas crenças e decidiu começar do zero. 笛卡尔知道，就像腐烂的水果一样，腐烂的思想可以传播并感染周围的所有思想，因此他颠覆了自己的观念，决定从头开始。 If he examined each possible belief carefully, and only accepted those about which there could be no doubt, then he’d know he was believing only true things. Se ele examinasse cuidadosamente cada crença possível e aceitasse apenas aquelas sobre as quais não houvesse dúvida, saberia que estava acreditando apenas em coisas verdadeiras.

So, Descartes began the arduous task of examining his beliefs one by one. Então, Descartes começou a árdua tarefa de examinar suas crenças uma a uma. 于是，笛卡尔开始了一项艰巨的任务：逐一检验他的信念。 He started with empirical beliefs – things we come to know directly through the use of our senses. Ele começou com crenças empíricas – coisas que conhecemos diretamente por meio do uso de nossos sentidos. And many of us think that our senses are the most reliable source of information. E muitos de nós pensamos que nossos sentidos são a fonte de informação mais confiável. If I can see it, and hear it, touch it, taste it, smell it, I must know it, right? Se posso vê-lo, ouvi-lo, tocá-lo, prová-lo, cheirá-lo, devo conhecê-lo, certo? Not so much. Não muito.

Descartes pointed out that our senses fail us all the time. Descartes apontou que nossos sentidos nos falham o tempo todo. You rush to catch up to a friend and realize, as she turns around, that your eyes played some tricks on you, and you’ve just tapped the shoulder of a perfect stranger. Você corre para alcançar uma amiga e percebe, quando ela se vira, que seus olhos pregaram uma peça em você, e você acabou de tocar no ombro de um perfeito estranho. 你急忙追赶一位朋友，当她转过身时，你意识到你的眼睛跟她开了个玩笑，你刚刚拍了拍这位完全陌生人的肩膀。 Food tastes wrong when you’re sick. A comida tem um gosto ruim quando você está doente. Drink too much and you feel like the room is spinning. Beba demais e você sente que a sala está girando. Water that’s room temperature feels hot when you come inside after playing in the snow. A água em temperatura ambiente parece quente quando você entra depois de brincar na neve. 当你在雪地里玩耍后回到室内时，室温的水会感觉很热。 The list goes on – you can probably think of countless times when your senses gave you faulty information. A lista continua - você provavelmente pode pensar em inúmeras vezes em que seus sentidos lhe deram informações incorretas.

And once you realize that, how can you ever trust your senses again? E uma vez que você percebe isso, como você pode confiar em seus sentidos novamente? And for Descartes, disbeliever of everything, iit got worse. et|||||||| Et pour Descartes, incroyant de tout, cela empirait. E para Descartes, descrente de tudo, piorou. Have you ever had a dream so vivid you thought you were awake? Avez-vous déjà eu un rêve si vif que vous pensiez être réveillé ? Você já teve um sonho tão vívido que pensou estar acordado? 您是否曾做过一个梦，梦境如此清晰，令您以为自己醒了？ You’ve probably had a dream that you were dreaming, or dreamed that you woke up from a dream, but in fact were still in the dream. Vous avez probablement eu un rêve où vous rêviez, ou rêvé que vous vous réveilliez d'un rêve, mais en fait vous étiez toujours dans le rêve. Você provavelmente já teve um sonho que estava sonhando, ou sonhou que acordou de um sonho, mas na verdade ainda estava no sonho.

Not everyone has had these experiences, but many of us have, and given that we don’t always know that we’re dreaming while it’s happening... HOW DO WE KNOW WE’RE NOT DREAMING RIGHT NOW? Nem todo mundo já teve essas experiências, mas muitos de nós já, e dado que nem sempre sabemos que estamos sonhando enquanto isso está acontecendo... COMO SABEMOS QUE NÃO ESTAMOS SONHANDO AGORA? Maybe you just think you’re watching Crash Course, but in fact, you’re cozied up in bed, dreaming about me. ||||||||||||blotti|||||| Talvez você apenas pense que está assistindo Crash Course, mas na verdade, você está aconchegado na cama, sonhando comigo.

Which, hey, like, who could blame you? 嘿，谁能责怪你呢？ But really, when you think about it, can you be SURE it’s not the case? Mas realmente, quando você pensa sobre isso, você pode ter certeza de que não é o caso? 但实际上，当您仔细考虑一下，您能确定事实并非如此吗？ Now, you might be thinking, ok, sure, I probably deceive myself from time to time, without knowing I’m doing it. Agora, você deve estar pensando, ok, claro, provavelmente eu me engano de vez em quando, sem saber que estou fazendo isso. But dreams end. Mas os sonhos acabam. And when I wake up, I realize that what I thought I was experiencing was all in my head. E quando acordo, percebo que o que pensei estar vivenciando estava tudo na minha cabeça. And the same is true for when my senses let me down. E o mesmo é verdade quando meus sentidos me decepcionam.

Those are just temporary instances, isolated to a particular situation. Essas são apenas instâncias temporárias, isoladas para uma situação particular. 这些只是暂时的情况，只针对特定的情况。 As soon as the situation changes, I can realize that my experience was false. Assim que a situação muda, posso perceber que minha experiência foi falsa. This quality – the ability to check in with yourself and figure out that you’re experiencing a deception – describes what Descartes called local doubts. Essa qualidade – a capacidade de verificar a si mesmo e descobrir que você está passando por uma decepção – descreve o que Descartes chamou de dúvidas locais.

Those are doubts about a particular sense experience, or some other occurrence at a particular point in time. |||||||||||événement|||||| Essas são dúvidas sobre uma experiência sensorial específica ou alguma outra ocorrência em um determinado momento.

Step out of that point, and you can check to determine if you’ve been deceived. Saia desse ponto e poderá verificar para determinar se foi enganado. 走出那个点，你就可以检查是否被欺骗了。