Descartes

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes Rene Descartes' works, Meditations I, II and III, illustrating his arguments proving the existence of God. The paper outlines Descartes' use of a circular argument, using the existence of God as a basis for proving that his clear and distinct ideas result from the existence and nature of God as non-treacherous. The paper discusses Descartes' arguments, presenting their failure in proving God's existence.

From the Paper:

"In Meditations III, Rene Descartes attempts to prove in the existence of God. In essence, Descartes argues that God exists because his mind can conceive of God. There are numerous reasons that Descartes' proof for the existence of God fails. First, Descartes uses a circular argument, using the existence of God as a basis for proving that his clear and distinct ideas result from the existence and nature of God as non-treacherous. In addition, Descartes never considers that a truly benign and good God could conceivably mislead humans if there were some aspect of the world too horrific for them to know."

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