Descartes Argument Analysis

The ideas of truth and falsity are familiar concepts that pertain to any number discussion topics, especially those regarding higher power and error. In Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, he seeks to validate his own thoughts, ideas, and beliefs through reasoning, and in doing so raises questions about the existence of God and the sources for error. Through the course of his argument, his premises and conclusions debate these topics, which allows the Meditations to be followed as a sequence of arguments. However, on the path of the argument, Descartes’ logic can be called into question, as well as his methods of distinction. As Descartes attempts to verify his previous knowledge, he causes his own arguments to be thrown into doubt. …show more content…
Starting with the “First Meditation”, Descartes is focused on the act of suspending judgement when one is not completely informed. In the “Second Meditation”, he searches for clarification on clear and distinct ideas. According to this logic and the argument in the “Fourth Meditation”, beings have an ability to suspend judgement if ideas are not clear and distinct, and nature and God are not sources of error. Therefore, through the course of his book, Descartes pieces together his own ability to reason and judge. As a result, his ideas of clear and distinct have become dynamic after being cast into doubt, and since he has a better understanding of the knowledge he can trust, this epiphany on error will allow him to make better informed decisions. This argument also acts as a segue into Descartes’ ongoing debate into the existence of God, as his verification of the scope of will and intellect for both God and man proves vital to his next line of reasoning. In this, he reasons that God exists because he can perceive his existence, having already proven to himself that he can trust his ideas when they are clear and distinct and that he is not being deceived by anything other than his own ignorance. He then allows for trust in intellect and will while accounting for error without doubting God’s ability to create beings, therefore establishing a trust in the divine above his own experiences. As Descartes does not have a full and informed understanding of the mind and body, the similarities and differences he has noticed between himself and God allow him to question if connection and separation of the mind and body is possible, thereby completing his scope of