The goal of Descartes’ Third Meditation is to determine if God exists, and, if God is a deceiver. He attempts to show the rationality of the belief of God in order to discredit agnostics and atheists. Descartes reaches conclusions on both of his goals in this particular section of the mediation. Descartes displays how reason can lead to the affirmation of the existence of God. Through the use of deduction and an analysis of cause and effect, he concludes that God exists.
Descartes explains he has the idea of God within him. This idea must have a source. It had to have come from somewhere. He explains how he knows he did not get the idea of God from his parents, nor did he create the idea himself. If neither him nor his parents are the source, the only other possible source of the idea is God himself. The idea must be innate, and God was the one to instill it within him.
Descartes explains how this could be true. He did not see, feel, hear, taste or smell the knowledge of idea of God into being. He did not just one day believe in the existence of God. He did not create the idea as he cannot add to the idea or take away from the idea, as an inventor can. As there is no other source, the idea of God has to be innate. Since God created him, then he surely must have been the one to put the knowledge of his existence within him. Therefore, he concludes that God exists because he exists. And, God is not a deceiver.
Works cited
Skirry, Justin. Rene Descartes. 2016. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/descmind/>.
