MEDITAŢIA LUI ABSTINEO ÎN MEDITAŢIA A IV-A LA DESCARTES
The meditation of abstineo in Descartes’ Fourth Meditation

Summary/Abstract: This study addresses the question whether Descartes’ Fourth Meditation engages a specific exercise of meditation. In spite of a wide interpretation held within the Cartesian Studies which views the Fourth Meditation rather as a treatise, I argue that the act of abstineo is the meditative exercise that one can find in Descartes’ Fourth Meditation. The first part of this study describes what is to be required in order to search for an exercise of meditation in Descartes’ Meditations. The second part shows that abstineo is a judicativevolitional act that confirms the exercise of a meditation. Moreover, the judicativevolitional abstineo is shown to be a part of the general rule of truth established in the Fourth Meditation. In the third part, I argue that the Descartes’ approach on error in relation to the divine veracity is not formulated in terms of theodicy. Descartes’ approach is one of submission and gratitude, inspired by the meditative act of abstineo. All these premises emphasize the meditative character of Descartes’ Fourth Meditation.

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