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Are any of descartes' arguments for the existence of god persuasive?
Member rating: No Rating | Words: | Submitted: Wed Nov 26 2003
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ARE ANY OF DESCARTES' ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD PERSUASIVE? Having established the Cogito as the 'first principle' of Descartes' new and certain philosophy, he is left with the monumental task of reconstructing the system of beliefs that he so mercilessly destroyed in the First Meditation. But rather than launch directly into an attempt to build on this claimed 'firm foundation' of the cogito, he takes what Cottingham describes as the 'curiously indirect route' of seeking first to prove the existence of God. Descartes' motivation behind establishing God's existence before considering the most basic of scientific or natural existences is, he argues, the natural step from the first principles to the establishment of scientific and natural knowledge that cannot be doubted. To construct this new and certain knowledge directly from the basis of the cogito would be near impossible, as at every stage of consideration one would be plagued by...
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