Will, Impulse, Habit, Doubt

For Dewey, Impulse is both a constituent of, and a breaker of, Habit--as a plastic force Impulse can be organized into a repeatable behavioral pattern, but as fundamentally independent of any organizational influence, it can break free of any established pattern. Now, Descartes' ascription of Doubting to Cogito, derived from Agito, suggests that it is a species of Impulse. Furthermore, here, Impulse is interpreted as Will, and is classified as a Material Principle, with the imparting of determinacy to it the effect of its accompanying Formal Principle. In those terms, the system of beliefs that Descartes eventually establishes and develops--starting with 'I am a thinking being', and proceeding to 'God exists', Mathematical propositions, etc.--are adoptable Formal Causes. Hence, the arc of the Meditations can be interpreted in terms of Impulse--from the Habit-breaking of Doubting to the Habit-formation that begins with 'I am a thinking being'.