Existence Beyond Our Thought

In Meditation Five, Descartes focuses on the existence of things separate from our thought of them, and applies the same argument to further his case for the existence of God. He starts by recalling that fact that there exist things in the world which we perceive, however, our perception of them does not warrant their existence. He uses the fact that a triangle exists, whether or not he is thinking of it. A triangle has certain properties at all times, independent of the mind and "a certain determinate nature, essence, or form which is unchangeable and eternal" (64), which is similar to God. The “essence” of a triangle always is. God, similar to a triangle, exists, regardless if God is being thought of; God, too, is independent of thought. Although we cannot think of them at all times, both God and a triangle exist at all times. We can think of them if we wish to; we can recall the memory of the demonstration of a thing, removing doubt as to whether or not a thing exists (69). The “essence” of a thing is its ability to exist, whether or not we are thinking of the thing.

In revisiting his argument for the existence of God, Descartes “cannot think of God except as existing” and “it follows that existence is inseparable from God, and that for this reason he really exists” (67). He seems to claim that he thinks of existence because God exists, just as thinking of a mountain with a valley is the result of a mountain and valley existing. He focuses on the relationship of existence and God. Existence and God are necessarily dependent on one another, just as a mountain is to a valley (67).