The Argument Of René Descartes Meditations On First Philosophy

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In his Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes seeks to prove that corporeal objects exist. This argument is put forth based on the principles and supposed facts he has built up throughout the Meditations. In order to fully understand his argument for the existence of corporeal things, one must trace his earlier arguments for effects and their causes, the existence of God, the nature of God, and his ability to never make mistakes. Descartes sought to establish some truths in the world that would never be proven false through his Meditations. In order to do so, Descartes said that he had to call everything into question of which he thought was true, because building truths on other truths that are not absolutely true allows for error, and many years of scientific thought wasted if it was spent using false information. Therefore, Descartes begins by doubting everything and slowly works his way through overcoming doubt with certainty in order to contribute and make more efficient the scientific community. This even came down to God, the existence of the physical world, and himself. However, Descartes determines early on that he exists. He notes that he has thoughts, and whether or not they come from him, they do exist, and he cannot be convinced …show more content…

Perfect not only means that God is infinite in power and presence, but also in compassion and good-will. In order for something to be perfect, then something must be better than all the rest, and a completely good God would be better than an evil or even somewhat good God. Following this sentiment, if God is perfect in all of these ways, then this means God would not allow for any other malevolent beings to exist. Also central to his argument for the existence of God is that this idea of God being perfect means that he must exist, since an existent God would be better than one that is nonexistent, and therefore the very thought of God is interlocked with the idea that he

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