Descartes and Husserl on "clear and distinct"

Haojun Zhang

Renmin University of China

pp. 51-72

in: Husserl Studies 35 (1), 2019.

Abstrakt

The term "clear and distinct" is used by both Descartes and Husserl when they talk about the truth of an idea and the evidence of judgment. Although the words "clear" and "distinct" are juxtaposed with the conjunction "and," this does not mean that their status is equal. If the concept of "evidence" can be used to characterize the hierarchical relationship between them, then we can say that, for Descartes, distinct evidence is higher than clear evidence. For Husserl, on the contrary, clear evidence is higher than distinct evidence. Their opposing views concerning the hierarchy between clarity and distinctness is symptomatic of the differences between their two understandings of the epistemological relationship between intellect and sensibility, as well as of their respective ontological reach.

Cited authors

Husserl Edmund

Descartes René