The existence of God has been a question since the idea of God was even conceived. Rene Descartes tries to prove God's existence, and to show that there is without a doubt something external to one's own existence. Decartes is looking for a definite certainty, a foundation for which he can base all of his beliefs and know that they are, indeed, true. Descartes' overall project is to find a definite certainty on which he can base all his knowledge and beliefs, including the existence of God.
             One might infer that Descartes is a "non-believer" in the existence of a heavenly being, a God that presides over humans and gives us faith. However, this is simply not the case. Descartes focus is on trying to destroy all of the uncertainties that have come about by the attempted scientific explanations of such a supreme being or God. For Descartes, and all of the other believers in the world, the existence of God provides a convenient answer to unexplained questions, while never providing answers to the questions about God himself. This is evidenced a great deal in the circular argument made by Descartes in the Meditations. What follows, is a brief account of the third meditation in which shows Descartes' response to the question, "What is God?" Can one perceive or confirm the existence of an idea that is external to him, an idea such as God?
             In order to determine the answer we must start by understanding the ways in which we can conclude an objects' existence. Descartes explains three ways in which a person might come to such a conclusion – the first, through nature; the second, through feeling a value that is independent of the will of the object; and the third, the objective reality of an idea, or the "cause and effect profile." Descartes provides us with the idea that an object will have an effect when it stems from a legitimat
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