Scientia, diachronic certainty, and virtue

In the Fifth Meditation Descartes considers the problem of knowledge preservation (PKP): the challenge of accounting for the diachronic certainty of perfect knowledge [scientia]. There are two general solutions to PKP in the literature: the regeneration solution and the infallible memory solution. While both readings pick up on features of Descartes’ considered view, I argue that they ultimately fall short. Salvaging pieces from both readings...