René Descartes was a French philosopher born in 1596. He is often thought of the “Father of Modern Philosophy”. He is also recognized for his work in mathematics, and sciences, where he created a universal method of deductive reasoning. Although he is known for all of theses, his primary field of study was in Philosophy. His most famous quote is “I think, therefore I am” (first written in French “Je pense, donc je suis”). From this quote he developed his reasoning for the existence of God. Throughout his research he discovered two trademark arguments for the existence of God. Descartes formed an ideology that God is perfect, and could never deceive us. This essay will be exploring the importance of God in the creation of life, how we use our
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He believed that if a demon would try to deceive you into thinking that it exists and you do not, you would have to exist in order for the demon to be able to deceive you. This is where the phrase comes from, if you are a thought creating human being, then you exist in the world. This is thought to be Descartes first principal. Descartes states that there is God as he describes him as “true God, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and the sciences lie hid” (AT VII 53; CSM II 37). Descartes ascertains that God is an all powerful being that created us by stating that if no one is perfect then we are created from the hand of an all powerful perfect creature that placed you on the earth for a reason. In the Third Meditations Descartes formulates the idea of God in order for him to gain a better knowledge of the world around him, and for us to ponder the thought of the all powerful god. Descartes believes that God has left our lives up to us but has created a path for us to follow, that will allow us to “achieve understanding of the fundamental principals of the entire physical universe.” (Cottingham, 48). This idea is known as the ‘Trademark Argument’, because it revolves around the idea that God has placed the idea of himself within …show more content…
Descartes believes that you only believe in God when the idea of him is at the front of the mind. Since our attention wanders it causes the notion of God to disappear when the thought leaves your mind. However, since our attention is not infinite, it is impossible for the thought of God to always be in someone’s mind. He’s uses the metaphor “If I try to keep more than a few objects in my field of vison, some of them are bound to go out of focus” (Cottingham, 70). Descartes describes God’s existence in the mind in two stages: we can move from cognition (more cognition) to scientia (stable knowledge). Descartes believes that “all knowledge depends on God”, meaning that atheist cannot achieve full scientia, due to the thought of God not being present in their mind. He believes that atheist cannot fully comprehend the knowledge of the world, due to the fact that their mind will always wonder back to the doubt of God. Descartes states that “if something is clearly perceived, then no matter who the perceiver is, it is true and does not merely seem or appear to be true” (Seventh Replies: AT VII 511; CSM II 348). However, he believes that an atheist will never progress beyond the individual truths, and therefore will never truly comprehend everything that the world has to
He believed that if a demon would try to deceive you into thinking that it exists and you do not, you would have to exist in order for the demon to be able to deceive you. This is where the phrase comes from, if you are a thought creating human being, then you exist in the world. This is thought to be Descartes first principal. Descartes states that there is God as he describes him as “true God, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and the sciences lie hid” (AT VII 53; CSM II 37). Descartes ascertains that God is an all powerful being that created us by stating that if no one is perfect then we are created from the hand of an all powerful perfect creature that placed you on the earth for a reason. In the Third Meditations Descartes formulates the idea of God in order for him to gain a better knowledge of the world around him, and for us to ponder the thought of the all powerful god. Descartes believes that God has left our lives up to us but has created a path for us to follow, that will allow us to “achieve understanding of the fundamental principals of the entire physical universe.” (Cottingham, 48). This idea is known as the ‘Trademark Argument’, because it revolves around the idea that God has placed the idea of himself within …show more content…
Descartes believes that you only believe in God when the idea of him is at the front of the mind. Since our attention wanders it causes the notion of God to disappear when the thought leaves your mind. However, since our attention is not infinite, it is impossible for the thought of God to always be in someone’s mind. He’s uses the metaphor “If I try to keep more than a few objects in my field of vison, some of them are bound to go out of focus” (Cottingham, 70). Descartes describes God’s existence in the mind in two stages: we can move from cognition (more cognition) to scientia (stable knowledge). Descartes believes that “all knowledge depends on God”, meaning that atheist cannot achieve full scientia, due to the thought of God not being present in their mind. He believes that atheist cannot fully comprehend the knowledge of the world, due to the fact that their mind will always wonder back to the doubt of God. Descartes states that “if something is clearly perceived, then no matter who the perceiver is, it is true and does not merely seem or appear to be true” (Seventh Replies: AT VII 511; CSM II 348). However, he believes that an atheist will never progress beyond the individual truths, and therefore will never truly comprehend everything that the world has to