Ontological Argument of Descarte’s Implicative Discussion on God, Research Paper Example

Introduction

 The truth behind God’s existence has always been a source of confusion and debate among different members of the society. Religious leaders and social leaders often define such a condition of thinking and belief as a source of disagreement among many different institutions around the globe. The years of the great awakening has introduced several names of philosophers who have tried their best to provide proofs that God exists while some others try to prove otherwise. Descartes was one among those who strongly believe that there is a God who exists. In his desire to prove such an idealism, he introduced the different meditations to present his arguments as he tries to convince his audience about the truth behind the existence of a supreme being.

In the discussion that follows, a distinctive identification of the three primary arguments that Descartes presents in meditations 3 and 5 shall be better defined in relation to how Descartes aims to present his thinking as a source of valid distinction on why the existence of God could actually be strongly relied upon. Through this discussion, it is expected that the understanding over the arguments of Descartes could be fully defined accordingly.

The Argument of God’s Existence Based on the Philosophy of Realism

The theory of realism basically suggests that whatever is assumed to be factual should be believed to be as it is. Realism defines the condition by which the human mind acquires the capacity to think things through and become more accustomed to the facts that suggests their strong and reliable source of being believable. For instance, Descartes imposes that when he thinks that one is true, then it is most likely true. The personal intuition of a human being about specific matters is noted by Descartes as a proof that is strong enough to depend upon. The superiority of the human mind to think in comparison with all other creations make it possible for humans to serve intuitive understanding of matters that is far more greater than that of the other creatures. Considering this fact, Descartes argues that such superiority in thinking basically instantiates the idea behind the factual being of the thought hence making whatever humans think to be sourced from something factual and reliably true.

True, the human mind functions according to a particular system that it follows. Relatively, when a person begins to think, it is most often than not that such thought comes from an experience, a notable learned knowledge and one strong source of an idea is personal instinct. Descartes tries to implicate in his third meditation that when a person thinks of something, it always has a basis. Whatever the basis may be among the three choices being memory, knowledge or instinct, has a strong source of foundation. Understandably, realism then cannot be produced without any specific source. Hence, in relation to this particular idealism, Descartes tries to prove that when something came from another thing, then the result should be a factual sense of understanding. The fact that a people [although not all] do believe that there is a supreme being even when that ‘someone’ cannot at all be seen through the physical human eye, then perhaps it does have a basis.

The Idea of Perception and Belief

As part of human thinking comes the ideal presentation of knowledge and understanding of matters based on experience. In connection to this idea, it could be understood that when humans tend to accept something to be real, they intend to manifest that their perception about the matter is rather positive. The source of such perception could be that particular value in the heart that defines the being of a person being attached to the idea itself. It could be that the natural instincts of humans to have a desire to depend on someone supreme brings about the fact that somehow, that particular idea regarding a supreme being is indeed realizable to be factual.

Natural perception is then suggested by Descartes through his argument to have a valuable impact on the proof that God is existent. Relatively, as a human individual, it could be understood that thinking is a process that comes from a basis and from such aspect of realization comes the thought that whatever a person perceives than it should be accepted as true. ‘Nothing comes from nothing’, the idea of a person thinking and desiring of having a supreme being to guide him and probably protect him should then not be considered as a mere desire. It Is with the birth of such ideas regarding supremacy and the existence of a higher authority of direction that the being of an existing God could be better regarded for.

The Theory of Perfect Existence

Basing on creation, Descartes presents himself and his being as the actual presentation of the creator that he wants to prove about. He invokes that his being, his process of thinking, his wonderful physical attributes, and his capacity to survive through time is a proof that his creator is someone who is more than what he is. Basically, he imposes that his being cannot be much better than his creator. It should be the other way around; and him, being perfectly made, requires a maker who is of a higher degree of perfection. What makes a person perfect is that of his attributes. The supremacy of the humans’ quality in comparison with that of the other creations specifically show a disparity on how humans were created.

Descartes even mentions that it is impossible that his creation should only be taken in relation to the manner by which his mother and father have become the evident source of his existence. The perfection of his being [relatively connected to his capacity to think, breath and live life accordingly] cannot simply come from individuals who are in relative connection to the imperfections that humans possess such as growing old, getting sick and finally dying. The creator that Descartes imposes to exist is someone who has higher capacities and capabilities that humans themselves. He argues that this is just how it should be as someone who is to create a supreme being like humans should posses somewhat greater capacities and better characteristics compared to that of the humans. Understanding this matter depends on how a person is able to see himself in the being of someone much higher than he is. In this case, Descartes points out that the maker or creator should always be greater than the creation hence making humans the meeker and lesser presentation of what the creator is. Hence, if humans are relatively perfect, then the creator is far more perfect.

Learning and Reflection

From this particular discussion, it could be understood that the idea behind the supremacy of God according to Descartes’ mediations 3 and 5 is based on three particular ideas. One is that of the materialism and realism of what is observed as acceptable. Another is that of the existence of perception and belief that is based from the three basic factors of human thinking which includes memory, knowledge and instinct. Third is that of the assumption of a perfect creator based on the perfection of the creations. These three sources of proofs give indication that the arguments of Descartes are based from his personal understanding of what makes up a God and how his existence could be proven by the supremacy of human beings compared to other creations as it is.

Through specifically looking and analyzing through the different presentations of Descartes’ arguments, it could be understood that God is an existing persona simply because of the fact that humans think him to be. Relatively, the desire to have someone more powerful, more intelligent and more authoritative to direct the ways of the human beings has also been used by Descartes as an innate proof that there is someone who does exist to be higher than the humans having far more greater capacities that instantiates his supremacy among all.

Conclusion

Through the years, up to now, the existence of God is still being debated upon. The fact that he cannot be seen nor can he be heard or appeal to the human’s five senses in a direct manner imposes his existence to be rather abstract. Nevertheless, science and its study of life has been used by several philosophers like Descartes to impose that there is indeed a God that exists. Several phenomenon of human existence and the perfection behind creation is utilized by the said philosopher as a source of reliable explanation as to why the belief of God could actually be strongly embraced. Humans, being the actual proof of the existence of a supreme being, seem to be the strongest argument that Descartes presents in his meditations discussed herein. Relatively, this discussion invokes that Descartes distinctively separates mere assumption from the factual arguments on the proofs that he presented regarding the existence of a living God. From this point, it could then be imposed that the belief upon God as Descartes described is not baseless, instead, the proof lays on the human beings and their being created as perfect living elements.

References:

Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy. http://spruce.flint.umich.edu/~simoncu/101/desmeds.htm. (Retrieved on March 18, 2013)

Cottingham, John (1992). The Cambridge Companion to Descartes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Duncan, Steven M. (2008). The Proof of the External World: Cartesian Theism and the Possibility of Knowledge. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co.

Melchert, Norman (2002). The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. New York: McGraw Hill