Descartes: wax argument

Descartes uses what is known as his wax argument to demonstrate the limitations of the senses. He considers a piece of wax, and notes that his sense inform him of certain characteristics about that piece of wax. These characteristics include things like its size, shape, color, odor, texture, and so on. When he brings this piece of wax to a flame, however, these characteristics are completely altered. Despite these different characteristics, Descartes notes that it is still the same piece of wax as beforehand. Whether it is solid or liquid, hard or soft, hot or cold, it is still the same exact item. So, Descartes determines that he cannot rely upon his senses to determine the true nature of the wax, but rather upon his mind. He writes, "Thus what I thought I had seen with my eyes, I actually grasped solely with the faculty of judgment, which is in my mind." I like Descartes' wax argument because it shows exactly what he wanted to prove--the limitations of the senses. Your senses can obviously provide you with a ton of information, but they are incapable of reasoning through that information. That is what makes the mind so important--it must make sense of everything that the senses bring in.