In the third mediation of René Descartes'
"Mediations on the First Philosophy" (titled: " On the existence of God ") Descartes
establishes the principle that anything which can be clearly and distinctly
perceived by the natural light is true and uses this to establish that God
exists. In meditation 2
Descartes establishes that he in fact exists (after raising some concerns in meditation 1). In meditation
3 Descartes notes that he finds himself with an idea of God in his mind and
asks what is the cause of this idea? For Descartes a cause must have as least
as much reality as its effect. Since Descartes or any other finite being has
less finite reality than God, only God could be the cause of his idea about God
(see separate summary of Descartes' proofs of God). This means for Descartes that God must exists. Descartes
then wonders, by way of continuation, whether he could exist with his idea of
God if God didn’t exist? He argues that he could not have brought himself into
existence, for only a perfect being could do this and he recognizes that he is
not perfect (that's very modest of Descartes, but let's remember that he claims
to have written "Mediation on the First Philosophy" in 6 days
very much like someone else who crated his world in such a time span). Descartes
could have been brought into existence by his parents, but this merely forces
us to ask how they came into existence. Eventually, we will need to recognize a
being with a higher degree of reality. So God must exist to be the cause of our
existence. As for the idea of God, we know it can’t be an invention of my mind,
since my mind is limited and God is not. It could be something I have picked up
from others but this too forces the question of whether they got it from.
Descartes concludes meditation 3 with the assertion that we are born with the
idea of God. God himself places the idea of himself in us as a craftsman puts
his mark on his work.
After doubting the world in mediation 1 and then finding a basis for it
(the self) in meditation 2, Descartes' mediation 3 brings god into to picture
so that we may believe in a little bit more than just our own existence. In meditation 4 we will see
how Descartes uses God to reassure us of a reality.
back to: A summary by chapter of Descartes' Meditations
See also: essential summary of Rene Descartes' Meditations
back to: A summary by chapter of Descartes' Meditations
See also: essential summary of Rene Descartes' Meditations