Descartes Existence Of God Analysis
analytical Essay
1154 words
The purpose of my essay will be to examine Descartes' argument for the existence of God. First, I will discuss Descartes’ proof for the existence of God then I will critique the argument of his existence. Lastly, I will point to some complications and problems that exist within the proof. Descartes’ proof of the existence of God is presented in the Third Meditation. He shapes his argument on the proof in the Second Meditation that in order for Descartes to think he must exist. From this specific examination he realizes his existence is very clear and distinct in his mind because of the fact he had just discovered his own existence. He then creates a rule that whatever things he sees are clear and distinct, are all true. Descartes begins his proof by splitting his thoughts into four categories, which consist of ideas, judgments, volitions, and emotions. He then further analyzes these categories to decide which thoughts might consist of error.
In order to understand Descartes thoughts you first need to realize there is no error in portraying an idea. There can only be error in the judgment of whether the idea is wrong or right. For example, I may have an idea of what it would feel like to get a tattoo, but in order for my idea to be right or wrong I would need to make a judgment first in order for me to believe the idea. For the lack of better words, having an idea and believing an idea are two completely different things. Regarding the thought of volitions, it also does not consist of error since you can choose anything you want and not find error in the reason why you chose it. Finally, when it comes to Descartes’ thought of emotion, it does not obtain any error either because you can desire anything in the world and not find err...
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...rmal and objective reality. I don’t agree with the fact that in order for me to have an idea, it would exist. For example, I can think of God and I can also think of a person being so imperfect. Since Descartes holds that existence is perfection, how can this idea of an absolutely imperfect being exist? Stated in Descartes’ rule, objective reality is derived from formal reality but in this case there is no formal reality. Therefore I do not see how the existence of God is possible.
In conclusion, Descartes described many theories as to why he believes that God exists. From creating rules to breaking down his thought process, you can see where he gets his reasoning’s and ideas behind Gods existence. Although he had many proofs to Gods existence, his reasoning’s appeared to be unclear in many circumstances resulting in the original question whether God exists or not.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes descartes' argument for the existence of god in the third meditation and the second meditation.
- Explains that descartes' thoughts aren't error-free, but there is only error in the judgment of whether the idea is right or wrong.
- Analyzes how descartes' ideas are innate, adventitious, and invented by him.
- Explains descartes' rule that an idea can't exist without a cause, while objective reality is when ideas represent reality.
- Analyzes how descartes explains that he is imperfect because of his doubts. he determines different characteristics that god possesses just from observing himself.
- Explains that descartes discovered qualities within his existence, which led to the rule that all things that are clear and distinct are true.
- Analyzes how descartes uses what he envisions to be imperfect to determine which qualities are perfect and which are not.
- Explains that their final difficulty in discovering proof involves the concepts of formal and objective reality. they don't agree with the fact that in order for them to have an idea, it would exist.
- Concludes that descartes described many theories as to why he believes that god exists, from creating rules to breaking down his thought process.
Related
- analytical
- How Did Descartes Conceit The Existence Of His Own Existence?analytical essayThrough Descartes’s Meditations, he sought to reconstruct his life and the beliefs he had. He wanted to end up with beliefs that were completely justified and conclusively proven. In order to obtain his goal, Descartes had to doubt all of his foundational beliefs so that he could start over. This left Descartes doubting the reality of the world around him and even his own existence. In order to build up to new conclusively proven and justified true beliefs, Descartes needed a fixed and undeniable starting point. This starting point was his cogito, “I think, therefore I am.” In this paper I will argue that Descartes’s argument that he is definite of his own existence, is unsound.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that descartes's argument that he is definite of his own existence, is unsound.
- Analyzes how descartes' argument for his existence came from the doubt he had about everything around him, which was generated by the idea of an evil genius.
- Argues that descartes' cogito argument is unsound, since it assumes that an "i" exists before he can make that conclusion. machines are created to receive information and then to do exactly what is told of them.
577 wordsRead More - Descartes' Proof of the Existence of God in Meditation Threeanalytical essayDescartes' Proof of the Existence of God in Meditation Three This paper is intended to explain and evaluate Descartes' proof for the existence of god in Meditation Three. It shall show the weaknesses in the proof, but also give credit to the strengths in his proof. It will give a background of what Descartes has already accepted as what he truly knows. The paper will also state Descartes two major points for the existence of God and why the points can easily be proven false.
In this essay, the author
- Explains and evaluates descartes' proof for the existence of god in meditation three. it will show the weaknesses, but also give credit to the strengths in his proof.
- Analyzes how descartes starts the meditation by saying what he has already learned in the first two meditations.
- Analyzes how descartes wishes to extend his knowledge through knowledge in his own self. if a deceitful god exists, how can he affirm any knowledge within himself?
- Analyzes how descartes wants to prove to a level of certainty that god does exist. his first major point is that something cannot proceed from nothing.
- Analyzes how descartes conceives a supreme god, an eternal, infinite, immutable, omnipotent creator of all things that exist outside of himself.
- Analyzes how descartes claims that god is all-powerful and completely good, yet gives no proof that he is good.
- Analyzes descartes' second argument that god exists is that since he exists god must exist.
- Analyzes how descartes admits that his parents were at least part of the cause, but then says he can continue to live without them.
- Explains descartes' third conceivable idea that some being other than himself is conserving his existence. god must have created the being, which brings up the possibility of spontaneous generation and evolution.
- Analyzes how descartes claims to find in himself, among his other ideas, the idea of an infinitely perfect being.
- Analyzes how descartes states at the end of meditation three that god cannot be a deceiver because he is perfect being. the idea of god's omnipotence provides us with reason to doubt our mathematical intuitions.
- Concludes that descartes cannot compete with what modern science has shown for proof of evolution and the idea of spontaneous generation.
1027 wordsRead More - In this paper, I will show how Descartes moves through doubt to certainty. I will explain how Descartes uses the cogito, proves the existence of God and what that means to his existence. I will also discuss the general rules of truth that Descartes establishes. In the First Meditation Descartes begins to examine what is certain and what is doubtful.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how descartes is interested in the certainty of his existence and the existence of other people and things. he argues that knowledge is acquired through awareness and experience.
- Explains how descartes moves through doubt to certainty, using the cogito, proves god's existence, and discusses the general rules of truth that he establishes.
- Explains that descartes wants to establish that his knowledge is certain and not doubtful. he first looks at the senses, which causes doubt.
- Analyzes how descartes realizes that dreams pose an obstacle to his beliefs. even up close, dreams can be indubitable.
- Analyzes how descartes realizes that he cannot rely on his senses anymore to give him dubitable truths. he turns to find something that is indubitably.
- Analyzes how descartes finds that geometry and arithmetic can be trusted because there are no senses involved. the only thing that could make these truths dubitable is through the intervention of an evil deceiver.
- Explains that descartes cannot prove that god is good and has to acknowledge god's power to deceive. he must doubt all things until he can prove their certainty.
- Analyzes how descartes affirms his existence every time he thinks, doubts or is persuaded.
- Explains that descartes affirms that if there is an evil deceiver, he must exist. he can only prove his existence in the mental capacity.
- Analyzes how descartes melts a piece of wax to understand his relationship between his body and mind.
- Analyzes how descartes makes a link between the senses and the mind in his third meditation. if god is an evil deceiver, then this cannot be true.
- Explains that descartes uses three points to establish the existence of god: adventitious ideas, invented ideas and innate ideas.
- Explains that descartes uses two more points to further establish that god exists. he uses the ideas of "infinite" and "perfect".
- Analyzes how descartes concludes that god does exist and therefore is not an evil deceiver. god has supplied us with the innate ideas of perfection and infinity.
- Analyzes how descartes proves that doubt is not universal, and that there is a general rule of truth.
- Analyzes how descartes explains that god exists and cannot be an evil deceiver, but why are humans imperfect and perpetually making errors?
- Explains that free will allows humans to make choices and decisions free from the influence of god. free will interferes with god's ability to help humans, which leads to poor decisions.
- Explains that descartes' fifth and sixth meditations begins with the establishment of his remaining doubts and the application of what he has discovered.
- Analyzes how descartes reiterates that god is not an evil deceiver and therefore he can clearly conceive something to be true. imperfection isn't compatible with god's omnipotence.
- Analyzes how descartes solves his second problem: the existence of corporeal (physical things) exist with certainty. since god is not an evil deceiver, the idea of physical things is accurate.
- Analyzes how descartes realizes that he has a body, which is ill-disposed when it feels pain, and that god is not an evil deceiver. he now can distinguish between being awake and dreaming.
- Analyzes how descartes concludes his meditations and uncertainties by establishing certainty to his doubts. john locke disagreed with his theories.
- Compares the beliefs of locke, an empiricist, to those of socrates. he argued that when a person was born their mind was empty.
- Analyzes how locke proposes three different possibilities about truth. the first is that there is no such thing as truth, the second is the no way to obtain truth and the third is implied things but not be absolutely certain about them.
- Explains that locke states that not all innate ideas come from "natural ability" and that a universal consent does not prove them. they could arise from experience.
- Explains that descartes and locke were two men with completely different views. they each set out to prove their own existence in a different fashion.
2292 wordsRead More - Prove the Existence of God Using Who Has the Idea of Godanalytical essayIn this paper, I will explain how Descartes uses the existence of himself to prove the existence of God. The “idea of God is in my mind” is based on “I think, therefore I am”, so there is a question arises: “do I derive my existence? Why, from myself, or from my parents, or from whatever other things there are that are less perfect than God. For nothing more perfect than God, or even as perfect as God, can be thought or imagined.” (Descartes 32, 48) Descartes investigates his reasons to show that he, his parents and other causes cannot cause the existence of himself.
In this essay, the author
- Explains how descartes uses his existence to prove the existence of god.
- Analyzes how descartes concludes i am created and preserved by god, the idea of god is also god gives me.
- Describes descartes, rené's meditations on first philosophy, trans. donald a. cress. third edition.
- Analyzes how descartes' philosophy requires an ability to recreate to complete, which infers that one's existence depends on a different existing substance.
- Analyzes how descartes denies the possibility the existence of himself is caused by some other causes simultaneously.
- Analyzes how descartes denies his parents are the reason he exists. his parents created him, though they did not preserve him.
- Analyzes how descartes believes the idea of god does not come from his senses, and it is not sensible.
930 wordsRead More - Descartes Meditation 1 Analysisanalytical essayHe argues that if he does not solve God’s existence, he will not be certain about anything else. Thus, Descartes says that he has an idea of God and, therefore, God exists. However, in order to be certain of His existence, Descartes provides proofs that will illustrate his reasoning. The four proofs include formal reality vs. objective reality, something can’t arise from nothing, Descartes cannot be the cause of himself, and therefore, the bigger cause is God. Now that Descartes knows God is real, he must solve another aspect, which is if God can be a deceiver. Descartes believes “it is clear enough from this that he cannot be a deceiver, since it is manifest by the natural light that all fraud and deception depend on some defect” (89). In other words, God possesses all of the perfections that Descartes cannot have but those perfections that are in his thoughts, concluding that God has no defects whatsoever according to the natural
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how descartes narrates the search for certainty in order to recreate all knowledge in meditations on first philosophy.
- Explains that natural light is the trustworthy skill that identifies truth from falsity. spontaneous impulse allows descartes to believe it because humans are taught by nature.
- Analyzes how descartes builds his foundation of certainty from the natural light through the examination of god's existence.
- Analyzes how descartes explains god's existence as a non-deceiving entity of natural light in meditation iv.
- Analyzes descartes's work, saying they're an amateur philosopher. they think natural light is having awareness that manages knowledge of truth through its own light.
- Explains that natural light has a significant meaning to the studies and explorations of this course. plato, descartes, or aristotle wrote about existence, virtues, and soul.
- Analyzes how descartes' meditations provide a basis for knowledge because one's senses can be sometimes misleading. with such beliefs, he moves forward in finding the foundation of knowledge and its certainty.
958 wordsRead More - Descartes' Proof for the Existence of Godanalytical essayDescartes' Proof for the Existence of God Many readers follow Descartes with fascination and pleasure as he descends into the pit of skepticism in the first two Meditations, defeats the skeptics by finding the a version of the cogito, his nature, and that of bodies, only to find them selves baffled and repulsed when they come to his proof for the existence of God in Meditation III. In large measure this change of attitude results from a number of factors. One is that the proof is complicated in ways which the earlier discourse is not. Second is that the complications include the use of scholastic machinery for which the reader is generally quite unprepared -- including such doctrines as a Cartesian version of the Great Chain of Being, the Heirloom theory of causaltiy, and confusi ng terms such as "eminent," "objective" and "formal reality" used in technical ways which require explanation.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how readers follow descartes with fascination and pleasure as he descends into the pit of skepticism in the first two meditations.
- Explains that this page aims to help students analyze the complex elements of descartes' proof into simpler parts and explain how those work.
- Analyzes how descartes has made some progress towards defeating skepticism at the beginning of meditation iii.
- Analyzes how descartes comes up with a criterion of certainty at the beginning of meditation iii, stating that all truths have in common the proper ties of being clear and distinct.
- Advises that if you are puzzled about what the terms "clear and distinct" mean, you might want to search the electronic text of the meditations available on this web site.
- Analyzes how descartes could doubt that 2 + 3 = 5 or that he exists by considering that god may have given him a nature which could be deceived about such th ings.
- Opines that when they turn to the things themselves which they perceive, they are so convinced by them that they spontaneously cry out, let whoever can deceive me, he will never bring about that i am nothing, so long as i continue to think i'm something.
- Opines that descartes can hardly bring himself to doubt the truths of mathematics, any more than he can his own existence.
- Opines that descartes' metaphysical source of doubt needs to be removed to render the truths of mathematics or even the cogito-over-time, certain.
- Explains how descartes will remove this metaphysical or hyperbolic doubt by proving that god exists and is not a deceiver.
- Explains that descartes' means are limited. he knows for certain that he himself exists and that his essence is to be a thinking thing.
- Explains that they have reached the beginning of the proof, at atvii 37 (pg. 88 in cottingham, and the last paragraph on pg
- Explains that some of their thoughts are images of things, and to these alone properly belongs the name idea. others, again, have certain other forms, such as fear, affirm, or deny.
- Opines that if ideas are considered only in themselves, and are not referred to anything beyond, they cannot be false.
- Opines that all their ideas are of the class which they call adventitious, or that they are all innate.
- Analyzes how descartes begins by classifying the kinds of ideas he finds in his mind to determine which of them are proper bearers of truth and falsehood.
- Analyzes how descartes makes mistakes in making judgements. he mistakenly held that the sky and stars existed, simply because they appeared before his mind.
- Explains that descartes classifies his ideas by their origin. some ideas appear innate, others adventitious, and still others have been invented by him.
- Explains that descartes has two reasons for thinking that ideas rese mble things. one is that nature seems to have taught him this, and the other is many ideas appear in his mind independent of his will.
- Analyzes how descartes dismisses these considerations as weak. being taught by nature, it means that "some spontaneous impulse leads me to believe it, not that its truth has been revealed by some natural light."
- Explains that descartes' proof for the existence of god begins with a new way to investigate the question of the external causes of ideas.
- Explains that ideas do not differ from one another with regard to truth because they appear before the mind and seem to come in the same way. but different ideas are considered as images which represent different things.
- Explains cottingham's footnote to the sentence quoted above, which clarifies both the term 'objective' and formal.
- Explains the scholastic distinction invoked in the paragraphs that follow, that the 'formal' reality of anything is its own intrinsic reality, while the "objective" reality is a function of its represntational content.
- Explains that descartes uses another scholastic term in regard to reality, that is 'eminent' reality.
- Explains that substances have more formal reality than modes and accidents. descartes uses the non-technical term 'thing' as a replacement for substance.
- Explains descartes' claim that infinite substances have more reality than finite ones.
- Asks descartes why he holds that infinite substances are more real than finite ones, despite accidents and modes depending on substances for their existence.
- Explains descartes' use of scholastic terminology as a clue to the great chain of being doctrine. the principle of plenitude suggests that god will create as much good as possible.
- Argues that descartes's dualism, his distinction between mind and body, flatens the chain to just two links, but this is not the case.
- Analyzes descartes' view that though one idea may originate from another, an infinite regress is not possible.
- Analyzes how descartes is going to exploit this point in proving the eixstence of god. if the objective reality of an idea is so great, he cannot be the cause of that idea.
- Analyzes descartes' ideas of god, corporeal and inanimate things, angels, animals, and men like mysel f.
- Analyzes how descartes turns to his idea of god to consider "whether there is anything in the idea which could not have originated from myself."
- Explains that god is an infinite, independent, supremely intelligent, and powerful substance that created both myself and everything else.
- Analyzes how descartes concludes that god necessarilty exists, which sounds like we are at the end of the proof.
- Explains how reconstructing descartes' proof for the existence of god is different from a summary of an argument. reconstructions are useful for detailed evaluation.
- Explains that the first step in reconstructing descartes' proof is to start with the conclusion.
- Explains that descartes had an idea of god which had so much objective reality that it could not have been made by him.
- Explains that ideas are either innate (inborn or known from one's own nature), adventitious (come from outside me) or made by me.
- Explains objective reality is the reality characterisic of ideas in virtue of the fact that the idea represents some realty.
- Explains that some ideas have more objective reality than others, depending on the formal reality of the things which they represent.
3413 wordsRead More - The Cartesian Circle is Wronganalytical essayRene Descartes meditations on the existence of God are very profound, thought-provoking, and engaging. From the meditations focused specifically on the existence of God, Descartes uses the argument that based on his clear and distinct perception that cannot be treated with doubt, God does exist. In the beginning of the third meditation, Descartes proclaims that he is certain he is a thinking thing based on his clear and distinct perception, and he couldn’t be certain unless all clear and distinct perceptions are true. Before diving into the existence of God, Descartes introduces smaller arguments to prove the existence of God. For example, Descartes introduces in his argument that there are ideas in which he possess that exists outside of him. Utilizing the objective versus formal reality, Descartes states “If the objective reality of any of my ideas turns out to be so great that I am sure the same reality does not reside in me, either formally or eminently, and hence that I myself cannot be its cause, it will necessarily follow that I am not alone in the world, but that some other thing which is the cause of this idea exists” (29). In other words, the ideas of objective reality that resides in Descartes can potentially only come from a supreme being, which is God; God possess more objective reality than he does formal reality. We as humans, as Descartes states, are finite substance, and God is the only infinite substance. The only way for us as a finite substance to think of an infinite substance is possible if, and only if, there is an infinite substance that grants us the idea of substance in first place. After these smaller arguments, Descartes states that while we can doubt the existence of many things, due to the fact that ...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rene descartes' meditations on the existence of god are profound, thought-provoking, and engaging.
- Explains that descartes' argument has been treated with dubious standpoints, such as the cartesian circle, which argues that he goes against his own word.
- Analyzes how descartes challenges himself to take on other arguments, such as that he may be supremely perfect, and that all his deficiencies are potentialities within him.
- Argues that the cartesian circle comes in play because descartes, misunderstanding his writing and phrasing of it, declares that we can only be sure of our clear and distinct perceptions if god exists.
- Opines that descartes was not interested in trying to prove that god exists because of our clear and distinct perceptions.
- Concludes that descartes' assertion that the intellect cannot outthink god or understand his ways is not enough to prove that god exists.
- Argues that descartes' purpose was to prove that god exists, and he has given us clear and distinct perceptions to consume the idea of god.
- Concludes that descartes' argument may have sounded confusing and the cartesian circle had a solid foundation and belief, but he was trying to make the point that god must exist in order for him or us to dwell on the idea of god.
- Describes descartes, cottingham, et al., meditation on first philosophy: with selections from the objections and replies.
1602 wordsRead More - Descartes argues that we can know the external world because of God, and God is not a deceiver. Descartes’ core foundation for understanding what is important comes from three points: our thoughts about the world and the things in it could be deceptive, our power of reasoning has found ideas that are indubitable, and certainty come by way of reasoning. Once we have a certainty of God, and ourselves then we are easily able to distinguish reality from dreams, and so on. God created us and gave us reason, which tells us that our ideas of the external world come from God. God has directly provided us with the idea of the external world. The concept of existence, the self, and doubt could not have existed on its own; therefore they had to be created by someone to have put them in our mind. That creator is God, who is omnipotent and perfect. God is not a deceiver to me; God is good, so therefore what I perceive really does exist. God without existence is like a mountain without a valley. A valley does not exist if there is no mountain, and vice versa a mountain is not a mountain with out a valley. We cannot believe or think of God without existence. We know the idea of God, and that idea inevitably contains his existence. My thought on god is clear and distinct that he is existent. Descartes’ now has ‘rebuilt’ the world, solely because of his power and reasoning. Descartes’ is only able...
In this essay, the author
- Argues that hume's or descartes' philosophical position on the existence of the external world is stronger than the other.
- Analyzes how descartes argues that we can know the external world because of god, and god is not a deceiver.
- Analyzes how descartes thinks about his own imperfections, and how it has to come from something superior to him.
- Explains that descartes argues that corporeal things exist because god cannot be a deceiver.
- Analyzes how hume argues that we can never know the external world as it really is, because we only know our impressions.
- Analyzes how hume argues that humans are a collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable swiftness and are in perpetual flux and movement.
- Compares hume and descartes' positions on the existence of the external world.
- Concludes that hume has a stronger position on the existence of the external world than descartes.
1321 wordsRead More - Meditation By Rene Descartesanalytical essayUp until the Third Meditation, Descartes arguments made sense with minor flaws, but not every argument is perfect. Trying to prove God’s existence… I believe that people should not being trying to prove whether or not God is real. As Pascal said, “If there is a God, he is infinitely beyond our comprehension, since, being indivisible and without limits, he bears no relation to us… That being so, who would dare to attempt an answer to the question? Certainly not we, who bear no relation to him” (Pascal
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rene descartes' greatest work, meditations on first philosophy, attempts to build the base of knowledge through a skeptical point of view.
- Analyzes how descartes becomes inconsistent with his initial position on skepticism, stating that he must define a concept before we can prove its existence.
- Analyzes how descartes moves away from his skeptical point of view as he attempts to prove god's existence.
- Analyzes how descartes attempts to prove the existence of god to rid any doubts he may have of his perceptions, but why does it have to be god?
- Analyzes descartes' argument that god is the most perfect being, but this is only an assumption, which can be doubted.
1373 wordsRead More - René Descartes Does Not Reject Sense Perceptionanalytical essayDescartes began his argument in the First Meditation by questioning or calling into doubt everything that he knew. After examining all the things he thought he knew about himself and the world he concluded (the details of that argument are beyond the scope of this essay) that the only thing he knew with absolute certainty is that I am, I exist (Section 25). Having established the fact that he has a real existence of some kind he then said But I do not yet understand...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that their mind is responsible for their understanding of wax in the various forms it can take, but it is an inspection on the part of the mind (mentis).
- Argues that rené descartes' argument does not necessarily reject any role of the senses in the process of understanding.
- Analyzes how descartes began his argument by questioning or calling into doubt everything he knew about himself and the world. he equates mind, intellect, understanding, reason, and soul with thinking.
- Analyzes how descartes explains that the senses provide the raw material for the operations which the mind performs.
- Argues that the wax illustrates the difficulty of relying on our senses for an understanding of the world around us.
- Explains descartes, rené's meditations on first philosophy: in which the existence of god and the distinction between the mind and body are demonstrated.
- Explains that both the veitch and cress translations seem to ignore the latin word animus which descartes listed between mens and intellectus.
2400 wordsRead More