Does God truly exist? The inquiry concerning God's existence is one of the most fundamental and controversial questions in life. Whether or not there is such a thing as an almighty Supreme Being depends on personal belief. Today many people in the world do believe in a higher power, while others hold contrary opinions. Renee Descartes, a modern philosopher, held a firm opinion in favor of God's existence. To defend his argument, Descartes discusses his reasoning for believing in God in the "Third Meditation." I believe that Descartes argument in the "Third Meditation" for the existence of God supports and defends his beliefs.
             The "Third Meditation" is concise of two arguments. The first argument analyzes what can and cannot be doubted. Descartes first comes to the conclusion that he is a thinking thing. "I am a thing that thinks, that is to say, a thing that doubts, affirms, denies, understands a few things, is ignorant of many things, wills, refrains from willing, and also imagines and senses" (Descartes 24). He believes that he can only be assured when he acts on what is inside his mind because the senses can be deceiving. He then establishes clearness and distinctness as his principle for truth. "And thus I now seem able to posit as a general rule that everything I very clearly and distinctly perceive is true" (Descartes 24). Thus, ideas that are mental images are certain because they belong to the mind, while references to things outside the mind are not certain. Descartes presumes that ideas or images, emotions, and choices of the will are certain, whereas judgments are not. He goes on to distinguish between innate, acquired, and produced ideas. Innate ideas are present at birth. Acquired ideas come from the outside, and one creates produce ideas. Descartes believes that the source of our ideas come form the mind, not the senses.
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