Rene Descartes is a French philosopher and mathematician of the XVI century, considered as a father of modern philosophy. He defined an opening point of existence and he is an author of well-known dictum “Cogito ergo sum” that means “I think; therefore I am.” He was influenced by Plato, Aristotle, Anselm and Thomas Aquinas.
Descartes’s famous proofs of God’s existence are based on the system of personal experience and the “I” conception but in his speculations, it was not a person that have a conversation with God but the idea of the human “I” as a thinking substance.
The first proof consists of four theses and their logic are very simple.
I am imperfect by evidence.
I have an exact idea of a perfect being, God, and it is the impartial reality of perfection existence.
I am less than the objective reality of perfection
Thus, there must be a perfect essence that exists formally from my idea of a perfect being originates.
The second proof.
Who keeps me in existence? If I do it myself thus, I am perfect.
Nobody among the human beings, including my parents, can be the cause of my existence with the idea of my perfection.
Therefore, God must exist and renew me constantly.
The first proof is an ontological argument for our idea of God as a perfect being and it is clear that He more exist than not to exist. The second proof is more complicated and based on the difference between two sorts of reality. ("About Philosophy: Theories, Study Guides, And More")
The first proof concentrates on the one exact idea – the idea of the perfect creature, or God. In order to prove that together with this idea, there must be another source Descartes uses the Medieval principle of the universal doubt: the reason must not be less perfect and real than its consequence.
The second proof is the similar to the first one and based on the same Medieval principle according to which the reason must not have lesser perfection and reality than the consequences but, this time, the starting point is Descartes’s existence that has been proved earlier. He asks himself if he is the reason for his own existence. If he had enough force to create himself he would have enough strength to create himself as a perfect being but he is imperfect. If Descartes is the reason for his existence he is God but as it has been stated before, Descartes is far away from the perfection thus, he is not his own creator. Descartes could not solve that problem supposing that his existence was eternal. As he exists in time, his life is divided into moments and to save these moments there must be the same amount of strength as for the creation.
The first proof cannot be more convincing than the second and vice-versa because they corroborate and cannot be excluded one from another. ("About Philosophy: Theories, Study Guides, And More")
Having proved that God exists Descartes asks why it is possible for human beings to make mistakes. According to Descartes, errors are the results of our judgments about the perceptions which are not clear. As far as we assent to distinct perception, we never make any mistakes. Human beings’ mistakes cannot be considered as God’s imperfection in His creations. People were made as perfect beings as they could be made and they were given endless will in order to act freely and thus be responsible for their deeds. But human understanding, unlike their will, is not endless and they only understand what they have already deduced correctly about. (Hatfield)
Descartes statement that God gave people the endless will, caused a brief discussion of the issue of free will. God gives people will and this will per se is free. Thus, there is no difference between human and divine will. But the human mind is limited and because of this freedom they can choose to judge perceptual or ethical situations for that they do not have a clear understanding what is right and what is wrong. If people constricted their deeds to clear and distinct perception to the correct ones, they would never make any mistakes. But the vicissitude of life forces people to speculate about unclear notions and act wrongly. Thus, they may have some errors. (Hatfield)
People can also make mistakes because of their sensory perception. The sensations depend on the environment and sense organs and nerves that pass from the body to the brain. God establishes the connection between the mind and the body so that our senses are conductors for most of the life conditions. But the environment may be poor or unusual, or some nerves may be damaged. In this case, the description of reality that is passed from the body to brain is subnormal. (Hatfield)
Thus, Descartes divides the human errors into two groups which are cognitive errors and sensory defacement.
As we know, God is almighty and the creator of everything. We can conclude that everything happens is foreordained by God. Descartes asks how people can adjust this with the idea that they can act according to their personal will they choose. His answer is a bit disappointing because in his point of view human beings can adjust it by realizing that they do not understand everything about God. Thus, Descartes has not got any ideas how to adjust it but it does not mean that it is incompatible. ("Sparknotes: Principles Of Philosophy: I.31–51: Sources Of Error, Free Will, And Basic Ontology")
Descartes proofs of God’s existence are rational because their scientific base can be supported by the Bible. “Then God said, “Let Us make a man in Our image, according to Our likeness;” (Gen. 1:26 New King James Version) “ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen. 1:27 New King James Version) Thus, people are similar to God in their appearance only. God did not plan to create perfect creations, He just gave us His image and a human being be considered as perfect and the peak of His creation because people look similar to God.
God gave us understanding and free will “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”(Gen. 2:7 New King James Version) Thus, people cannot be perfect because they were given just a breath of God. This passage explains to us that people are God’s creations and they cannot have all perfection of God but they have the intellect and free will and their perfection depends on their personality.
Thus, Descartes arguments convincing to me.
Works Cited
"About Philosophy: Theories, Study Guides, And More". About.com Education. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Holy Bible New King James Version. 2nd ed. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2016. Print.
"Sparknotes: Principles Of Philosophy: I.31–51: Sources Of Error, Free Will, And Basic Ontology". Sparknotes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Hatfield, Gary. "RenГ© Descartes". Plato.stanford.edu. N.p., 2008. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
