extract from this own thoughts some idea and everything pertaining to it, then it must also be true he is able to do so for the idea of God. Descartes first attempts to do this by employing the idea of mathematics and geometry. To Descartes the idea of God is in him just as that of shapes or numbers. The truths of God are equivalent to the truths of mathematics he says. He begins by summoning in his mind the idea of a triangle. Although such a triangle may not exist in the external world, there is still a specific nature about that which it means to be a triangle; its essence. A triangle has a certain nature independent of whether anything in nature is a triangle. When Descartes formed this idea he may not have pondered all the properties that pertain to a triangle, but this is no reason for the rejection of such properties. In fact, these properties are what make up the triangle's essence. These geometric principles have not been extracted from the senses which may fail us, but rather through the clear and distinct perceptions of our minds. Just as Descartes theory suggests, all things he perceives clearly and distinctly must be true. Here Descartes has laid his foundations for his second proof of God. He came up with the idea of a triangle's essence by perceiving it clearly and distinctly. I will go on to show how Descartes uses this same proof to demonstrate the truth that is the existence of God. Still, while Descartes is able to enforce the truth in his theory, he asserts that his idea of a triangle does not imply its existence in r
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