Descartes and the Metaphysical Doubt - 1235 Words

Descartes proves that God exists in his third meditation. He proves that God exists because he wants to be certain about things outside of himself. But, he cannot be certain of these things if he is ignorant about the existence of God. This is because if a supreme God exists, he could cause Descartes to be mistaken in the one avenue to certainty that he has. This avenue is known as clear and distinct perception, and, according to Descartes, it is what is necessary to be certain about a thing. However, a supreme God could easily be deceiving him even when he thinks he is correct as a result of this clear and distinct perception. This is known as the metaphysical doubt. Therefore, to remove this basis for doubt, it is important to Descartes†¦show more content†¦Put in a different way, a baby elephant will never be able to fly, because its ability to fly can never be more perfect than that same virtue contained in its parents. Descartes applies this concept of causation to idea s. For instance, Descartes has a certain idea that God is infinite. We can therefore say that Descartes idea of God contains infinity objectively, because, the idea of an infinite God is in his head. Since something must have caused this idea, it follows that its cause must be formally infinite. This basically means that the idea of infinity in Descartes was caused by something with at least as much reality. Picture the baby elephant illustration, the baby elephant is a representation of the formal reality of its parents. Now, Descartes himself is not an infinite being, so he cannot be the cause of this idea of infinity. This means that some other being outside him must be infinite, and we are left only to conclude that God exists. However, someone might say that their idea of God is different to Descartes. For instance, Descartes idea of God is that he is infinite, but my idea of God might be that he is invisible. We have different objective realities of who God is. Therefore, both ideas surely cannot resemble the same God outside of us. In response to this argument, Descartes might say the following. Although it is true that given the causal adequacy principle for ideas, my idea of an invisible God would mean that God is invisible, thisShow MoreRelatedDescartes Doubt And Crime1317 Words   |  6 Pages Descartes Re-visited Doubt and Crime Kirsten Besheer, in â€Å"Descartes’ Doubts: Physiology and the First Meditation,† makes the caution that â€Å"many commentators dismiss the First Meditation with a scant summary usually involving key words like ‘dreams’ and ‘doubt.’ This being the case, I am not surprised that the rest of the Meditations have remained opaque to them†(55). What Besheer is warning against, specifically, is an uncritical examination of Descartes. For, as the years continue to distant theRead More The Folly of Renà © Descartes’ Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy1462 Words   |  6 PagesThe Folly of Renà © Descartes’ Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy In order to embark on his quest for truth, Descartes first devises his four rules which should serve as a solid foundation for all else that he comes to understand. Those rules are here evaluated in terms of what they fail to take into consideration. The rules are examined individually and consecutively, and are therefore also reiterated in order to be clear about them. Furthermore, the approach of usingRead MoreRene Descartes And Kant1013 Words   |  5 Pagesworth studying, a common theme present amongst Renà © Descartes, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant is the fact that all three philosophers challenged the traditional ways of thinking about philosophy respective to their eras. In certain aspects, all three of these philosophers also grappled with understanding, discovering, and logically explaining the power of the mind to shape whole truths. From Descartes’ foundational work with methodological doubt to Kant’s contribution to previous philosophical conceptsRead M oreThe Cartesian Circle Essay913 Words   |  4 PagesDescartes’ Cartesian Circle Descartes’ â€Å"Cartesian Circle† has come under fire from countless philosophers because it supposedly commits a logical fallacy with its circular reasoning. In his second Meditation, Descartes attempts to prove the existence of God. He states that clear and distinct perception leads to knowledge, and that God’s existence is apparent and obvious because of things we have come to perceive as knowledge. Furthermore, he asserts that we cannot turn these perceptions intoRead MoreRene Descartes And Blaise Pascal1619 Words   |  7 PagesRene Descartes and Blaise Pascal were philosophers with a common goal – bringing others to the truth of the existence of God. They both had a desire to help others scale the heights of religion, using the path of reason, and bring them to the other side with a firm perception and knowledge of the reality of, not just a god, but the one, true God. Though their goal and method was similar, that of using doubt as a vehicle to t raverse the oppositional arguments of unbelievers, they arrive at differentRead MoreThe Life of Rene’ Descartes: His Works and His Beliefs in God1578 Words   |  7 PagesWas Rene’ Descartes just a visionary of truth, mathematical equations or was he truly a man that knew he was born to tell the world about life, knowledge, and how it all came together metaphorically? Please see the research on Rene’ Descartes cited accomplishments. Descartes was known as the first modern philosopher. Famous for making a connection between geometry and algebra, which allowed for solving of geometrical problem by way of algebraic equations, which promoted a new conception of matterRead MoreDescartes Essay example757 Words   |  4 PagesDescartes Is our education complete once a degree has been earned? Have we learned all there is to know? Can we be sure of what we have come to know? Only a completely self-assured person might answer yes to these questions, but for Rene Descartes (1596-1650) the completion of his formal education left him feeling and thinking he was still ignorant about the certainties of human experience and existence. This prominent Renaissance philosopher conquered the world of uncertainty in a workRead MoreEssay about Descartes discourse on method931 Words   |  4 Pages Understanding Descartes’ Method of Doubt Clear your mind, if you will, of everything you have ever seen or known to be true. To begin understanding Rene Descartes’ method of doubt, you need to suspend all prejudice and prior judgments and start with a clean slate â€Å"for the purpose of discovering some ultimate truth on which to base all thought.† (Kolak, Pg.225). Discouraged with much skepticism from his own beliefs, Descartes was embarrassed of his own ignorance. He set out to try and accomplishRead MoreDescartes Discourse on Method931 Words   |  4 PagesUnderstanding Descartes Method of Doubt Clear your mind, if you will, of everything you have ever seen or known to be true. To begin understanding Rene Descartes method of doubt, you need to suspend all prejudice and prior judgments and start with a clean slate for the purpose of discovering some ultimate truth on which to base all thought. (Kolak, Pg.225). Discouraged with much skepticism from his own beliefs, Descartes was embarrassed of his own ignorance. He set out to try and accomplishRead MoreDescartes s Meditations, Descartes Essay1139 Words   |  5 Pages1 Though unstated throughout his meditations, Descartes primary goal in the Meditations is to lay a strong foundation for the mathematical science that is emerging during his lifetime. There are two Aristotelian doctrines that Descartes wants to reject, the first which is final causation. The second is qualitative science, because Descartes tends to favor quantitative science over final causation. In Descartes’s first meditation his method of doubt is seen clearly since he knows that he believes