Descartes’ strategy is to prove the existence of God that will then affirm the truth of his perceptions and ultimately find the source of the idea of God. He describes knowing God as being “a substance that is infinite, eternal, immutable, independent, supremely intelligent, supremely powerful, and which created both [himself] and everything else.” (118) With this claim he realizes that there is more reality in an infinite substance like God than a finite one like himself. His argument explains that all he knows for certain is that he exists and that he is a “thinking thing.” (109) These facts are known to him through “clear and distinct perception,” and he infers that with this method of understanding all of his perceptions are vulnerable to truth. (113) However, he must prove God’s existence in order to confirm the truth of clear and distinct perceptions.
Descartes is able to doubt the existence of some things, but he cannot deny God’s existence because of understanding of God as being perfect and endless. This idea has infinite reality and must be true when compared to other ideas. Given that he exists, then there must be a cause of his existence. If his existence was derived from himself, then he should not have any reason to doubt and desire. Also if he had always existed, then there would be no reason he should continue to exist without a specific force that sustains him. Considering the idea of God, Descartes concludes that God must be the cause of this idea and as a result must exist. (121)
With his conclusion of the existence of God, Descartes questions how he received the idea of God and where the idea originated from. While searching for the answer, he proposes that there are different types of ideas such as innate, fabricated, and adventitious. (115) Innate ideas have always been found within us, invented ideas stem from our imagination, and adventitious ideas come from life experiences. He argues that the idea of God is placed in him by God. Thus, the idea of God is innate, and he was created by God with the idea already within him. Also, since all deception depends on some kind of flaw, Descartes clearly and distinctly perceives that God is no deceiver because He is perfect with no defects.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Truth Within Existence
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3 comments:
Although Descartes speaks of being aware of what exists, particularly things that he perceives, he still doubts. In his conclusion on the necessary existence of God, he says what qualities constitute "God" and includes that God created him "along with everything else that exists-if anything else exists" (118). I was quite surprised and very fascinated by "if anything else exists" as this calls into doubt his basis for God's existence, as well as his own.
Decartes concludes that his parents could not have been the ones to bring him into to being and that they are not the ones that "perserve" (121) him. This coupled with the idea that he has the idea of God means that God exists. This argument sounds a lot like Anselm's reasoning for why God does exist. He says that if you can understand the concept of God in your mind then he must exist. God is something then which nothing greater can be thought and in order for it to be the greastest it must be real since real things are better then imaginary things and if God where imaginary he would be the second greatest not the first.
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