Film. Essay

Descartes is portrayed as a philosopher with a unique method of doubt as he tried to establish truths and knowledge of things he would be sure about. Descartes existed as a doubting thinker Descartes was against extreme skepticism. He forces skeptics to recognize their existence as a cause of unavoidable consequences as a result of their doubt. Descartes embraces the concepts of God and Body. The philosopher uses his mental life as proof for God’s existence and consequently uses God’s presence for the proof of the body. Reasons as to the existence of God include his belief that for him to exist there needs to be a Creator, who is a Conserver ensuring continuity. Descartes also asserts that for his idea of ‘Infinite Perfect Being’ to exist there needs to be an independent existence of such a plan which comes from God. For Descartes God is the sole solution to the problem that stems from the interaction between mind and body as they do not overlap.
Berkley likewise avoids skepticism and wants to be sure. Berkeley, however, argues that properties are of the mind and not objects and does not support the different notions of properties as suggested by Descartes. Berkeley rejects the occurrence of the physical world as substance. According to his perspective, the only substance is the mind as ideas are attributed from the mind as a result of personal experience. Berkeley is adamant that mind-independent objects are non-existent. However, Berkeley makes an exclusion from his theory by indicating that there is a need for God. Berkeley claims “being is to be perceived” neither claiming that sensible matters vanishes when they are not perceived. Berkeley does not claim to understand God. However, he acknowledges that he possess no idea of the existence of God or other spirits. He vehemently denies that a physical world exists.
A suitable response to Berkeley is that every substance possesses two kinds of properties i.e. the kernel of existence that includes the geometry of objects, the shape and position, and secondary properties like colors and information that one has on the tree are as a result of the function of the mind thus they exist. Berkeley’s response will centre on his belief that the only substance that is existent is the mind, and the tree is only an attribute of the mind. Descartes theory of representative perception is stronger as it supports the existence of matter and all objects exist in various forms as both primary and secondary properties and the world exists as a substance.