Olivia Murphy
Andrew Vlcek
PHIL 130 009
28 September 2015
Prompt #4
In the Third Meditation, “The Existence of God”, Descartes’ offers an argument for the true existence of God. The Third Meditation discusses what is real and the justifications behind it.
In an earlier Meditation, Descartes admits he is doubtful of his body, but is convinced that he exists. He clearly and distinctively recognizes this, however, he could not be completely sure unless all perceptions are distinct and coherent. Descartes thought about things that he knew without a doubt, and tossed aside all the other information that his senses had given him because they proved to be untrustworthy. By the time he was done he doubted everything about his knowledge. Nonetheless, this made him realize that because he doubts, he knows there is a person who doubts, “I think, therefore I am,” (Mediations). As an …show more content…
Descartes explains, “I am a thing that thinks: that is, a thing that doubts, affirms, denies, understands a few things…” (Meditations 80). It is safe to say that we all, as human beings, do in fact exist. The fact that he says we only understands a few things, however, makes us question right away how we could possibly understand the idea of a perfect being. The second axiom is a little more difficult to follow and believe. Descartes could have had the idea of a superior perfect being in his head, but not all people do. Does that infer this Supreme Being, this God, was unsuccessful in placing this idea in some peoples mind? Did God fail to put this in their heads, or did Descartes fail to understand that this idea is not as ‘innate’ as he thinks? It is proven every day that not every person has this idea. In class, we discussed how the concept of God was too large to fit in our minds, which contradicts the possibility that Descartes could have conceived this idea of a perfect
Andrew Vlcek
PHIL 130 009
28 September 2015
Prompt #4
In the Third Meditation, “The Existence of God”, Descartes’ offers an argument for the true existence of God. The Third Meditation discusses what is real and the justifications behind it.
In an earlier Meditation, Descartes admits he is doubtful of his body, but is convinced that he exists. He clearly and distinctively recognizes this, however, he could not be completely sure unless all perceptions are distinct and coherent. Descartes thought about things that he knew without a doubt, and tossed aside all the other information that his senses had given him because they proved to be untrustworthy. By the time he was done he doubted everything about his knowledge. Nonetheless, this made him realize that because he doubts, he knows there is a person who doubts, “I think, therefore I am,” (Mediations). As an …show more content…
Descartes explains, “I am a thing that thinks: that is, a thing that doubts, affirms, denies, understands a few things…” (Meditations 80). It is safe to say that we all, as human beings, do in fact exist. The fact that he says we only understands a few things, however, makes us question right away how we could possibly understand the idea of a perfect being. The second axiom is a little more difficult to follow and believe. Descartes could have had the idea of a superior perfect being in his head, but not all people do. Does that infer this Supreme Being, this God, was unsuccessful in placing this idea in some peoples mind? Did God fail to put this in their heads, or did Descartes fail to understand that this idea is not as ‘innate’ as he thinks? It is proven every day that not every person has this idea. In class, we discussed how the concept of God was too large to fit in our minds, which contradicts the possibility that Descartes could have conceived this idea of a perfect