Throughout Descartes' Second and Sixth Meditations there seems to be a growing tension between whether or not the mind and body are distinct. Analyzing both meditations it seems that Descartes' perspectives are contradictory to each other and need to be further evaluated to reveal his true meaning. By saying, in the second meditation, that we perceive things only through our intellect, and in the sixth meditation, that we do not perceive pain only through the intellect but rather through a mixture of our intellect and our senses, Descartes brings out the questionable tension. By examining each meditation, I was able to determine what I believe Descartes really meant and was able to critically evaluate his material to conclude that it is our senses that inform us of what is happening externally, but it is our mind and our intellect. which perceives and organizes the information we have received. During his second meditation, Descartes refers to the wax argument to solidify his view that, as humans, we know things through our intellect rather than through our senses and that it is our keep in mind that we know best than anything else. By stating that "even bodies are not strictly perceived by the senses or by the faculty of imagination but only by the intellect, and that this perception derives not from their being touched or seen but from their being understood..." Descartes is able to validate his point of view that it is the person's mind that defines the object rather than his senses. The argument begins with Descartes visualizing an exceptionally distinct piece of wax and describing it through his sensory perceptions; such as i...... middle of paper ......but the help of our senses informs us about what is happening in the outside world. It is our senses that inform us of what is happening outside, but it is our mind and our intellect that perceive and organize the information we have received. The wax argument was effective in demonstrating how difficult it is to rely solely on our senses to understand everything that happens around us. Focusing on the larger argument, that I know myself better than anything known by my senses, he seems to say that everything I thought I knew through my senses can really only be known by using my intellect. It is essential to use the senses to fully understand the nature of things, but using the senses alone leads to an inadequate determination of truth. It is possible to truly know things only when we use and understand them through our mind and intellect.