Descartes s View Of God - 1499 Words

Descartes proved in earlier Meditations that he himself exists because he is able to think and reason. His thought and his own mental idea of himself acts as the only proof of his existence that cannot be doubted. Descartes has in himself the idea of God and says that something, including that idea, can’t come from nothing. So that idea must have come from somewhere. He purposes that he cannot be the cause of the idea that God exists because he is finite and God is not. God is infinite. Descartes knows that God put this idea in him because he himself cannot think of it. He cannot come up with something that’s more than he can conceive of, and if he is a finite being, he cannot conceive of a being that is infinite. Just as a finite being, a†¦show more content†¦It is like you wouldn’t know that â€Å"white† lacks color if you did not already know that there were colors. You would not walk around seeing all white and wonder â€Å"Where’s the blue?† unless a greater being put the idea of â€Å"blue† in you. Here is another objection to his argument that Descartes considers: Perhaps I am something greater than I myself understand. Perhaps all these perfections that I am attributing to God are somehow in me potentially, although they do not yet assert themselves and are not yet actualized. For I now observe that my knowledge is gradually being increased, and I see nothing standing in the way of its being increased more and more to infinity. Moreover, I see no reason why, with my knowledge thus increased, I could not acquire all the remaining perfections of God. And, finally, if the potential for these perfections is in me already, I see no reason why this potential would not suffice to produce the idea of these perfections. (77) In other words, maybe Descartes could think up the idea of infinity, because he is getting more and more perfect, moving in that direction, and that enables him to imagine perfection. If Descartes was practicing running and he was running shorter miles everyday: 7 minute mile, 6 minute mile, 5 minute mile†¦ Someone might say that though he has not run a 4 minute mile yet, because he is progressing towards this, he is able to conceive of doing so. Descartes rejects this, saying: While it is true that my knowledge isShow MoreRelatedSimilarities Between Descartes And Nietzsche s View On God s Existence937 Words   |  4 Pagestruly a God or something superior to us? Yes of course. Conversely, atheists are people who don’t believe that God or a divine being exists. For the most part, atheists have acknowledged that the most reasonable conclusions are the ones that have the best evidential support. They have argued that the evidence in favor of God’s existence is too weak or the arguments in favor of concluding there is no God are more compelling. Two ancient philosophers, Descartes and Nietzsche’s have different views on God’sRead MoreWilliam Robertson Smith, A Scottish Orientalist, Old Testament1692 Words   |  7 PagesThe god can no more exist without his people than the nation without its god. This quote means that the amount of belief that people have on God reflects on how much hope God has for a nation. This quote ties into various discussions that have been going on for a long time, and that is whether or not God exists. A well known philosopher who shares his view on this argument would be Rene Descartes who says, I think therefore I am. This assertion has come to be known as the cogito. 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Rationalism and empiricism are two modes of thoughtRead MoreEssay about Descartes First Meditation924 Words   |  4 PagesDescartes#8217; first meditation, his main objective is to present three skeptical arguments to bring doubt upon what he considers his basic beliefs. Descartes believes this to be an intricate part of his complete epistemological argument. Descartes skeptical arguments are not intended to be a denial of his basic beliefs. On the contrary, he uses these arguments to help prove one of his main theses, which is the ex istence of God. One of the main premises that Descartes uses in his proof for