René Descartes Problem Of Error

René Descartes in his first three meditations concludes that God exists and is not a deceiver; he is also responsible of all human faculties. In his Fourth Meditation, Descartes explains how one can have the possibility of error under a God who is not a deceiver. If God exists and is not a deceiver, then how do we still make mistakes? In addition, if the faculty of judgment comes from God, why are our judgements not perfect? This complication is known as the Problem of Error. Descartes becomes concerned about finding out the root of human error, as he believes it must not have come from God. Later, he offers a solution that human error arises because of the power of unlimited will God has given to us. Descartes’ reply to the Problems of Error …show more content…
The problem of evil suggests that if an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God exists, then evil does not. However, there is evil in the world. This problem is similar to the problem of error as they both question the perfection of God. The traditional answer to the problem of evil is that evil is a result of the misuse of that freedom of will, and God values free will over stopping evil. Descartes uses a similar explanation to solve the Problem of Error. He looks closely into himself to determine the causes of his errors. He finds two simultaneous causes— “ [his] faculty of knowledge and [his] faculty of choice or freedom of the will” (19). He states that his errors depend upon his intellect and his will. However, Descartes determines that the intellect is limited and only allows us to perceive ideas, not to make judgments on them. Therefore, it cannot be the source of error. The will, contrarily, is responsible for affirming or denying ideas put forward by the intellect. A false judgement is made when the will affirms ideas that are not clear and distinct. Hence, Descartes argues that human error arises because the intellect is limited, and that the scope of the will is