Descartes
Descartes' 'Cogito Ergo Sum' (I am, I exist) argument is a complex one. In many ways, he constructs a convincing argument for the existence of the self, and for the process of the thinking being, the essence of that self. In this meditation on his philosophy, Descartes on numerous attempts tries to convince both the readers, as well as himself, of his theory that we must reject all of our present ideas and beliefs and start from nothing. He believes that the only thing that has any certainty at this point is "his own existence as a thinking being". Everything else, which he has learned throughout his entire life and believed in, is to be thrown out because it is not known "clearly and distinctly". Descartes' method and theory on knowledge was well planned and carefully thought out. It is evident that he spent a great deal of time determining the principles that he would use as determinants for judging whether a specific idea was justified and true. In my opinion, there are some flaws contained in Descartes' argument. Among these flaws are Descartes' apparent determination to prove his theory on his individual existence in the world and the existence of G-d to backup and prove himself and his theories.
With this pre-judgement of G-d's existence, he could not possibly have made a fair and accurate conclusion as to whether or not G-d really exists. He is debating complex ideas in his head, changing his mind and objectively making decisions, so his existence in a world has to be a certainty. He has nothing, nothing to believe in and everything around him he regards as false. Descartes then states with certainty 'Cogito ergo sum' (I am, I exist). In his Discourse, Descartes states "I learned not to believe anything to firmly of which I had been persuaded only by example and customs: and thus I little by little freed myself of many errors that can darken our natural light and render us less able to listen to reason. The feelings we get when looking at a beautiful sunset, or the colours of the leaves changing in the fall are no less important or meaningful to us just because they may not be completely accurate portrayals of reality. It seems to me that Descartes showed a display of arrogance in supposing that he could devise a method of proving the existence of G-d, doing so without a great deal of difficulty. He then used his idea of G-d to explain and justify his existence and everything else he wants to prove as "clearly and distinctly" in his argument. True as it may be, that our senses can sometimes deceive us, those deceptions can be beautiful and powerful things. I happen to feel that many of life's greatest pleasures are in those things that we can perceive only through our senses. I would elect to continue to experience feelings brought upon me by things which I have observed through the use of my senses and instinct, than to appreciate only those few things which can be proved to be absolutely true. The fact that he is having these thoughts, whether right or wrong proves mental capacity. For thousands of years, people have been trying to prove G-d's existence but he has yet to be successful. Everything that he has ever seen, learned or thought is now external from what he deems to be true and he is beginning his knowledge from non-existence.
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Acceptance Essays
