Rene Descartes Ontological Argument - 957 Words

â€Å"Cogito ergo sum† (â€Å"I think, therefore, I am†) (Descartes, Miller, Miller, 1983). Renà © Descartes was a philosopher of the 17th century who made major contributions to the field. Everything from his metaphysical arguments of existence of man to his proofs for the existence of God are still discussed and debated today. In the field of religion, most famous is his Ontological proof for the existence of God. In other words, proof that one can know God a priori, with no experience whatsoever. Following his publication, a philosopher named Caterus raised key objections to his proof, which he later responded to in an intriguing way. Descartes’s reply to Caterus’s critique of Descartes’s Ontological argument does not properly refute the objections†¦show more content†¦In other words, he is justifying that although the greatest thought may be inseparable from existing, it does not prove that this being must exist. Backing this claim up, he creates this idea of an â€Å"existent lion†. Caterus writes, â€Å"This complex â€Å"existent lion† includes both lion and the mode existence; and incudes them essentially, for if you take away either it will not be the same complex† (Descartes, 2009, p.86). In writing this, Caterus shows that although something may possess the mode â€Å"existing†, that mode only applies if the object itself already exists. Likewise, one cannot prove the existence of God without first showing that God already exists (Descartes, 2009, pp.86-7). Throughout Caterus’s critique, many strong objections are raised, and it is when Descartes attempts to respond that the argument falls apart. Descartes fails to properly refute any objections raised by Caterus, or solidify is case. To begin his response, Descartes (2009) begins by contrasting St. Thomas’s argument and his own. In this contrasting, he states that his argument is not subject to the criticisms St. Thomas’s argument is, due to the different wording used (p.87). I believe, however, that Caterus was not attempting to directly say the arguments were identical. Caterus even acknowledges the difference in wording. The object Caterus, through St. Thomas, raised is that it does not follow solely from the properties of which God has, thatShow MoreRelatedThomas Aquinas vs. Descarates Essays673 Words   |  3 Pagesgreat philosophers Thomas Aquinas’s and Rene Descartes used the method of ontological argument for the existence of God and used intuition and reason alone to get to each other’s theory. Rene Descartes wrote out several mediations, but the one we’re going to touch base on is meditation III that he wrote in the 1600’s; While Thomas Aquinas’s wrote his five proofs of God in 1270 that specifies God’s existence in each proof; the one that gives the best argument is the existence of God in his III proofRead MoreA Brief Look at Rene Descartes829 Words   |  3 Pages Rene Descartes was a brilliant man who came up with many inventions and thoughts to put in people’s minds and let them ponder off and question life in itself. In one of the many things Rene Descartes created, he wrote a book called Discourse on the Method and Meditations. Descartes discusses how there are two main proofs of God’s existence, the casual argument in meditation three and the ontological argument in meditation five. There are a few differences between these two meditations and one isRead More Descartes Essay1269 Words   |  6 Pages In the early 17th century a philosopher named Descartes, questioned his existence. His life was dedicated to the founding of a philosophical and mathematical system in which all sciences were logical. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Descartes was born in 1596 in Touraine, France. His education consisted of attendance to a Jesuit school of La Fleche. He studied a liberal arts program that emphasized philosophy, the humanities, science, and math. He then went on to the University of Poitiers whereRead MoreWilliam Robertson Smith, A Scottish Orientalist, Old Testament1692 Words   |  7 Pagesview on this argument would be Rene Descartes who says, I think therefore I am. This assertion has come to be known as the cogito. Descartes struggled with a problem that is now called â€Å"the problem of knowing,† and sometimes referred to as the â€Å"brain in a vat† dilemma. The idea is that the brain is easy to fool. The only way a person knows what he experiences of reality is the truth is by trusting in the sensory inputs of his own brain. One would agree with the arguments made by Descarte due to: theRead More Descartes Meditations Ontological Argument Essay1010 Words   |  5 PagesDescartes Meditations Ontological Argument Descartess fifth Meditation argument for Gods existence relies on an untenable notion that existence is a perfection and that it can be predicated of God. I shall first explain what Descartess argument for Gods existence is, and then present his argument in propositional form. I will then attempt to support the argument that existence is neither a perfection nor a predicate of God. In our thoughts we apprehend ideas of things. These ideas mayRead MoreDescartes Argument for the Existence of God Essay1167 Words   |  5 Pages Descartes employs what is known as an ontological argument to prove the existence of God. Saint Anselm who lived during the 11th century first formulated this type of argument. Since then it has proved popular with many philosophers including Rene` Descartes. Even though ontological arguments have lost popularity with modern philosophers there has been some recent attempts to revive them. Descartes formulation is regarded as being one of the best because it is straight forward and relativelyRead MoreProposed Seven Philosophers On The Existence Of God And Their Development Of These Ideas1413 Words   |  6 Pages (5) St. Augustine, (6) Thomas Aquinas, and (7) Rene DesCartes. The specific three I want to focus on being; St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Rene Descartes. Lastly, I will proceed to relate their ideas on the existence of God and their development of these ideas. St. Augustine s epistemology is rationalization. In his argument for the existence of God, he is referring to varying degrees of perfection otherwise know as, an Ontological argument. He believed that in pursuing truth, it would leadRead MoreThe Argument Of The Existence Of God1480 Words   |  6 PagesThe arguments trying to â€Å"prove† the existence of God are by far some of the most controversial philosophical arguments out there. When some of the people who created these philosophies it was illegal or even punishable by death to even question his existence, let alone try to come up with a logical explanation to â€Å"prove† he is real. The two main arguments used today are the ontological argument and the cosmological argument. Neither one of these arguments are correct nor incorrect; moreover, theRead MoreEssay on The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God1545 Words   |  7 PagesThe Ontological Argument for the Existence of God The ontological argument is an a priori argument. The arguments attempt to prove Gods existence from the meaning of the word God. The ontological argument was introduced by Anselm of Canterbury in his book Proslogion. Anselms classical argument was based on two principals and the two most involved in this is St Anselm of Canterbury as previously mentioned and Rene Descartes. The ontological argument argues thatRead MoreThe Role of God in Descartes Epistemology1356 Words   |  5 Pagesepistemology. Throughout this essay, I aim to critically examine the role of God in Descartes’ epistemology. Renà © Descartes’ epistemological contribution to western philosophy attempted to inaugurate a coherent method of questioning whereby knowledge of the world is attained independently of the authority of the Church or Bible. Strangely enough this separation had no intention on removing god from our lives or minds. Descartes’ project was to prove the existence of God, and to establish that only God can