Descartes

. . .
He is sure that it neither came from his senses nor himself. For how would I understand that I doubt and that I desire, that is, that I lack something and that I am not wholly perfect, unless there were some idea in me of a more perfect being, by comparison with which I might recognize my defects? (38)

Descartes’s claim that there’s more reality in infinite substance than in finite rests on a medieval conception of degrees of reality. So, even those inclined to concur with the conclusion of Descartes’ proof are often skeptical and raise objections about the method which he employs to validate his argument for the existence of God.

With the proof of his existence done, he unfolds at sufficient length his chief argument for the existence of God. His first point in rebutting this possibility is to note that “just as the objective mode of being belongs to ideas by their very nature, so the formal mode of being belongs to the causes of ideas, at least to the first and preeminent ones, by their very nature” (37). After all, one cannot weave fantasies from nothing. The first is the principle of sufficient reason. One might even worry that it’s more likely to be yet another example of humanity’s capacity for self-deceptive, wishful thinking.

God’s essence entails his existence. With this in mind, Descartes states that no one would have enough power to maintain their own existence; therefore there must be a higher being. What is more perfect cannot proceed from what is less perfect; otherwise, there would be a deficit of perfection. So Descartes says, “It is clear to me by the light of nature that the ideas that are in me are like images that can easily fail to match the perfection of the things from which they have been drawn, but which can contain nothing greater or more perfect” (37).

Whether Descartes’ arguments were mere example of humanity’s self-deceptive, wishful thinking are irrelevant to my thoughts as the reader and a Christian. Descartes believes that this argument juxtaposed with the definition of God’s essence is sufficient to quiet his critics.

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Approximate Word count = 3205
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)

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