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Descartes Proof For The Existence Of God. Descartes Proof ... God. First, I will
review Descartes’ proof for the existence of God. Then ...
Rene Descartes - Existence of God. ... Although his arguments are strong and
relatively truthful, they do no prove the existence of God. ...
Antony Flew: The Existence And Belief Of God. ... The "Sceptic" says there is
no gardener, just as an atheist denies the existence God. ...
God’s Existence Questioned: The Pursuit to Knowledge. ... The existence of God led to
the pursuit of knowledge for many philosophers, including Rene Descartes. ...
Existence of God and Evil. ... For many people the existence of evil and suffering
is their number one objection to the existence of God. ...
Submitted by maximus on May 3, 2005
Category: Philosophy
Words: 13060 | Pages: 53
Views: 612
Popularity Rank: 12,597
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René Descartes (1596-1650)
René Descartes (1596-1650) is one of the most important Western philosophers of the past few centuries. During his lifetime, Descartes was just as famous as an original physicist, physiologist and mathematician. But it is as a highly original philosopher that he is most frequently read today. He attempted to restart philosophy in a fresh direction. For example, his philosophy refused to accept the Aristotelian and Scholastic traditions that had dominated philosophical thought throughout the Medieval period; it attempted to fully integrate philosophy with the 'new' sciences; and Descartes changed the relationship between philosophy and theology. Such new directions for philosophy made Descartes into a revolutionary figure.
The two most widely known of Descartes' philosophical ideas are those of a method of hyperbolic doubt, and the argument that, though he may doubt, he cannot doubt that he exists. The first of these comprises a key aspect of Descartes' philosophical method. As noted above, he refused to accept the authority of previous philosophers - but he also refused to accept the obviousness of his own senses. In the search for a foundation for philosophy, whatever could be doubted must be rejected. He resolves to trust only that which is clearly and distinctly seen to be beyond any doubt. In this manner, Descartes peels away the layers of beliefs and opinions that clouded his view of the truth. But, very little remains, only the simple fact of doubting itself, and the inescapable inference that something exists doubting, namely Descartes himself.
His next task is to reconstruct our knowledge piece by piece, such that at no stage is the possibility of doubt allowed to creep back in. In this manner, Descartes proves that he himself must have the basic characterisitc of thinking, and that this thinking thing (mind) is quite distinct from his body; the existence of a God; the existence and nature of the...
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