Descartes Proof Of The Existence Of God Essays - Ren Descartes

Descartes' Proof Of The Existence Of God Essays - Ren Descartes Descartes' Proof Of The Existence Of God The intention of this paper will be to examine Descartes argument for the existence of God. First, I will review Descartes proof for the existence of God. Then, I will discuss some consequences that appear as a result of Gods existence. Finally, I will point to some complications and problems that exist within the proof. Descartes proof of the existence of God occurs in the Third Meditation. He builds his entire argument upon his proof in the previous meditation that in order for him to think, he must exist. From this single observation, Descartes notices that the idea of his existence is very clear and distinct in his mind; based upon this clarity and the fact that he has just determined his own existence, he deduces a rulethat the things that he sees as very clear and very distinct are all true. Descartes starts his proof by dividing thought into four categoriesideas (concepts), volitions (choices), emotions (desires), and judgments (beliefs). He then breaks down these categories to discover which type/s of thoughts can yield error. The first thing to realize is that there is no error in an idea. Error can occur only in the judgment of whether the idea is true or false. For example, I may have an idea of what it would be like to burn my finger, but that idea has no rightness or wrongness until I make a judgment as to whether I believe or disbelieve the idea. In other words, having an idea is one thing, but believing it is something different. Concerning emotions and volitions, these forms of thought do not give way to any error either since we can desire or choose anything and not find any error in the fact that I desire it or choose it. Next, Descartes discusses where ideas come from, namely, inside ourselves (innate or invented) and outside ourselves (adventitious). Innate, or inborn, ideas include my understanding of what a thing is, what truth is, and what thought is (38). These ideas are considered innate because the understanding seems to be resulting simply from my own nature. They are in no way derived. When my senses (seeing, hearing, feeling, etc.) come into play, I develop an idea adventitiously. For example, if I were sitting by a fire, I would feel the heat of the flames. Feeling or having the idea of the heat was not something I decided to do from within; therefore, it must have come from something other than myself (i.e. the fire). Last but not least, some ideas are made up in my own mind. For instance, I have developed an image of my grandfather who passed away long before I was born. I have never actually seen him, but I invented an idea of him. Descartes utilizes another rule in his thought process in addition to the one stated previouslyobjective reality cannot exist without formal reality. By this he means that an idea cannot originate without a cause. Formal reality is characteristic of things and ideas have formal reality because they are states of mind. Objective reality is when things or ideas are representational of other things. Ideas automatically have objective reality since the idea represents some reality. Also, the more perfect ideas cannot come from the less perfect. This is known as the Causal Principle and is more properly stated as there must be as much reality in the total and efficient cause as in the effect. He explains that those ideas in us that obviously do not have formal reality, such as a mermaid, are merely combinations of other formal realities (a woman and a fish) and thus do not invalidate the rule. Another important explanation to note is the difference between being an idea and being the oppo site of an idea. For example, heat is an idea and cold is simply the lack of heat. The idea of cold is dependent on the idea of heat. Now Descartes has established the rules by which to lay down his argument. He then explains that he knows that he is imperfect due to the fact that he has doubts. Clearly, knowing is more perfect than doubting. From this notion, he