Descartes And The Fourth Meditation Essay - 1742 Words

At the beginning of the fourth meditation Descartes has developed three main certainties: 1) God exists. The understanding that God exists, comes from the intellect and not from the senses or the imagination therefore God exists 2) God is not a deceiver because deceiving is a sign of weakness or malice and because God is perfect he would not be allowed to do things of such evil nature. And 3) if God created him, God is responsible for his judgment, and so his ability to judge must be sound; so long as he uses it correctly. Yet, If God has given Descartes indubitable judgment how is it Descartes makes an error from time to time? One possible answer is the fact that we can not see what God’s plans are, and so in the scheme of the entire universe our error could be making everything perfect. A second and more in-depth answer Descartes argues errors are mistaken judgments. When looking at what a judgment is composed of, one finds it involves two things, the intellect and the will. Both are faculties of the soul or self; whose existence is proved in the second meditation. The Intellect is limited, â€Å"through the intellect alone, [one] merely perceives ideas about which [one] can render a judgment. Strictly speaking, no error is to be found in the intellect when properly viewed in this manner.† (56) There is no error because the intellect does not make a judgment it simply takes in information. Descartes says error arises when the will affirms or denies a judgment the intellect hasShow MoreRelatedDescartes Fourth Meditation On The Existence Of God1382 Words   |  6 PagesIn Descartes’ F ifth Meditation, he delivers an argument that has come to be known as the Ontological Argument. It is here that Descartes argues for the existence of God, through a priori reasoning. In order to understand both the strengths and weakness of this argument, I will first break it down into its main premises. From here, I will argue that despite the simplicity and use of reasoning in the argument, the weaknesses outweigh the strengths, and ultimately that the argument fails. To allow forRead MoreDescartes s Fourth Meditation On Truth And Falsity1439 Words   |  6 PagesDescartes’s fourth meditation, he specifically demonstrates the relationship between the intellect and will, and his understanding of truth and falsity. Also, according to the objection regarding the cause of error, we know that Descartes’s idea of the source of error and the scope of the intellect and will is challenged. Objectors have different thoughts on the source of errors and they believe the scope of the intellect even seems to be wider than that of will. In fact, I agree with Descartes that theRead MoreDescartes Fourth Meditation : An Explanation Of The Relation Between Mind And Body?1934 Words   |  8 PagesR. 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First, he knows that God would not deceive him, since the will to deceive is a sign of weakness or hatred, and Gods perfection would not allow it. Second, if God created him, God is responsible for hisRead MoreDescartes and HisThoughts Regarding Dreams Vs Reality731 Words   |  3 PagesIn first mediation Descartes ponders on the idea of what is real and what is a dream; he con cludes that anything thing he can doubt is false and therefor a dream. After establishing the existence of the dream world he tries to figure out who is responsible for tricking him into this false world. He ponders on the idea that God could be responsible for tricking him, but quickly disregards that assumption believing that God, who represents everything that is good, could not deceive him; and concludesRead MoreEssay on Descartes Meditations1153 Words   |  5 PagesDescartes Meditations The way Descartes chose to write this piece literature captivated me. 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Descartes’ belief in GodRead MoreThe Philosophy Of Descartes Meditations1698 Words   |  7 PagesDescartes Meditations is said to be the beginning of Western Philosophy. His writings are still greatly referred to to this day, and he is most famous for his quote â€Å"cogito ergo sum† which translates to â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† Each of Descartes’ meditations are followed by objections from other theologists and philosophers, and thereon followed by replies from Descartes. Some objections are made stronger than others, for example, Thomas Hobbes, and it could be doubted whether or not DescartesRead MoreDescartes Meditations Is The Beginning Of Western Philosophy1690 Words   |  7 PagesDescartes Meditations is the beginning of Western Philosophy. His writings as still greatly referred to to this day, and he is most famous for his quote â€Å"cogito ergo sum† which translates to â€Å"I think, th erefore I am.† Each of Descartes’ Meditations is followed by objections from other theologists and philosophers, and thereon followed by replies from Descartes. Some objections are made stronger than others, for example, Thomas Hobbes, and it could be doubted whether or not Descartes truly was ableRead MoreGeorge Descartes s Sugar923 Words   |  4 Pagesmore than to know the baker’s true identity. Descartes was one of the humans who understood there was something greater that created him, and with this understanding he looked for proofs that showed the similarities and differences between himself and his creator. He â€Å"meditated† over the course of six days how the world was created from the ground up to understand his place among the grand creation as well as the identification of his maker. Yet on the fourth day he became aware of the similarities (truths)