Comparing Descartes Discourse Of Method And Meditation

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Recommended: 5. What is Descartes’ method of doubt and how it works

In the Discourse of Method and Meditations, Descartes performs a thought experiment which consists of putting aside all knowledge of things that rely upon man’s ideas. In doing so, Descartes reveals the idea of perfect certainty in man that is “inseparable from [his] nature (84). Through this, Descartes affirms the immovable and certain nature of an external being. Not only is he able to come to this conclusion, but also likewise believes that man is a thing that thinks, “[who] doubts, [who] affirms, [who] denies” (91). For a man is an existing thing who has a mind, which thinks. Man’s finite being affirms his dependability of God. This is the case for two reasons. One way in which man’s finitude confirms his dependability of God is seen through

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