What is the conclusion of Descartes argument?

Descartes says that the idea of God is as real as any figure or number. Once he accepted that God exists, he concluded that everything he clearly and distinctly perceives is true.

Why is Descartes argument for the existence of God so important?

It was essential for Descartes to attempt to establish that we could be certain about the existence of God because without it, Descartes believes that we will never have the ability to possess certain knowledge. Without this proof, Descartes’ entire rationalistic epistemology would have failed.

What is Descartes most famous conclusion?

cogito, ergo sum, (Latin: “I think, therefore I am) dictum coined by the French philosopher René Descartes in his Discourse on Method (1637) as a first step in demonstrating the attainability of certain knowledge. It is the only statement to survive the test of his methodic doubt.

How does Descartes explain the existence of God?

In the Fifth Meditation and elsewhere Descartes says that God’s existence follows from the fact that existence is contained in the “true and immutable essence, nature, or form” of a supremely perfect being, just as it follows from the essence of a triangle that its angles equal two right angles.

How does Descartes argue that he is a thinking thing?

For instance, in the Second Meditation, Descartes argues that he is nothing but a thinking thing or mind, that is, Descartes argues that he is a “thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is unwilling, and also imagines and has sensory perceptions” (AT VII 28: CSM II 19).

Which kind of idea does Descartes think the idea of God is?

But the idea of God is the idea of an infinite substance. Since a finite substance is less real than an infinite substance by virtue of the latter’s absolute independence, it follows that Descartes, a finite substance, cannot be the cause of his idea of an infinite substance.

What important conclusion about the mind does Descartes draw from the example of the piece of wax?

Finally, when people say that they “see” the wax, they usually judge through understanding what they see (Lacewing 235). Therefore, the main conclusion Descartes comes to is that “when we perceive an object like the piece of wax, there is an act of judgment involved in our perception.

What were Descartes beliefs?

Descartes’s metaphysics is rationalist, based on the postulation of innate ideas of mind, matter, and God, but his physics and physiology, based on sensory experience, are mechanistic and empiricist.

What role does God play in resolving Descartes doubts about the external world?

The answer to all these doubts is that God is not a deceiver. Descartes’ claim to know this rests on his idea of God. First, he uses the idea of God to prove that God exists in both the Trademark and ontological arguments. Second, in those proofs, it is an essential part of the idea of God that God is perfect.

Why does Descartes believe that God exists?

In the Fifth Meditation and elsewhere Descartes says that God’s existence follows from the fact that existence is contained in the “true and immutable essence, nature, or form” of a supremely perfect being, just as it follows from the essence of a triangle that its angles equal two right angles.

Does Descartes believe in God?

Does Descartes believe in God? According to Descartes, God’s existence is established by the fact that Descartes has a clear and distinct idea of God; but the truth of Descartes’s clear and distinct ideas are guaranteed by the fact that God exists and is not a deceiver. Thus, in order to show that God exists, Descartes must assume that God exists. Is the Nascar vortex real?

How does Descartes prove that he exists?

Descartes could trust that he was actually thinking. To prove this theory, he argued that he could not be thinking and questioning his own existence if he did not exist.

What is Descartes evil genius argument?

In one of the experiments, Descartes posited that if there was an evil genius, then he could have made what was a lie look obviously true. If there was an evil genius, even most plausible beliefs could be in default. At that point of inquiry, Descartes could not prove the existence of such a powerful and malevolent creature.