Descartes was very willing to unveil the uncertainty which was prevailing. He wanted to defeat skepticism completely. All these proofs were brought about by the fact that he wanted to remove his metaphysical doubts. Descartes tried to apply clear and distinct ideas as a paradigm to capture human knowledge and the use of cosmological argument to prove the existence of God. After all, he could not convince the people about his ideas as they are not supported by concrete reasoning. What he has made us aware of is not convincing enough to prove the existence of God. He does not satisfactorily give justification of his claim that the relationship between the truth of the idea objective and the recognized truth of the event that brings about the idea is direct.
Adequacy of the two Descartes proofs for the existence of God
The first Descartes’ proof for the existence of God was based on ‘nothing perfect can come from something less perfect’. This argument left people questionable as it is possible for something perfect to be borne by something imperfect. Something cannot come from anything. There are so many things in the universe existing and are believed to come from nowhere. In his second proof for the existence of God, his reasoning was based on ‘the powers and action which are used to take care of something, it’s the same power which would be required in the creation of something new’. This is not true because sometimes the power needed to create something is more than the power required to take care of it. The reality must be seen in the cause in the same manner as in the effect (Cahn, 350).
Descartes’ proof of the existence of God was made adequate by some factors which include; he considered that through the facts of the natural light there is truth in the efficient thing and complete cause as it is in its effect (Cahn 361). Secondly, it was based on the fact that in any idea there is one set objective to guide it instead of any other. Thirdly, he argued that if the objective set in his ideas is of that nature, then it’s not in him, and such he can not be the original cause of it. Descartes, therefore, concluded that he was not doing things and reasoning alone but with another being existing in him which can be referred to as the cause of all those ideas. This was meant to convince people but in reality, he was reasoning alone. The fourth factor which Descartes put in place was that his major idea was of a perfect God; it was then an objective with the utmost reality in it.
He suggested that it’s only God who can be the main cause of such an efficient idea and the fact that such an idea exists and has an efficient and complete cause. It was so definite to him that God exists (Sarkar 125) On the other hand, he doesn’t give us complete and sufficient proof of the clear and distinct idea which he claimed to have of a God who is perfect.
In the second proof for God’s existence, Descartes questioned himself whether he has any power which can manage to preserve his existence. He forgot that he also had some responsibilities to take care of himself (Sarkar 205). The other factor he put into consideration was the fact that parents had the capability of bringing him into the world, but creating and preserving him was beyond their potential. The parents and the people around him were capable of protecting him from any form of physical harm. Finally, he concluded that it’s only God who had the power to create him and enrich him with perfect ideas of God. One is born with wisdom, but knowledge and ideas are learned from other people. In both proofs of Descartes’s existence of God, he educates himself to the belief that God who doesn’t deceive exist, he as well exists and relies on external sources for his ideas.
The two proofs of Descartes’s existence of God are linked to his methods of doubt. In his methods of doubt, he was trying to do away with the foundation upon which his past beliefs were based on. At this point, he was trying to deny the truth and try to convince himself as well as others. He wanted to adopt a new set of beliefs that was indubitable (Cahn 510). He tried to achieve this by making his current beliefs unworthy and introducing himself to other beliefs. He planned to apply this based on three arguments; one is to outdo the idea of relying on the body senses. This was unacceptable as no one can believe that it’s true to doubt what his/her physical body organs like hands are doing as it is very evident. There is then the problem of the dream and the belief of having God who deceives.
Relationship between the two Descartes proof and his method of doubt
Through his method of doubts, Descartes manages the following; first in cogito, whereby he argues that he is there and he exists which appears true to his mind whenever that idea occurs in his mind. Secondly, he stands on the fact that God exists, existence is perfection, and therefore under no circumstances can this God deceive (Cahn 750). In this, he was capable of doing away with the first preconceived idea of God who deceives. Finally, he brought about his defense of dualism. He could not completely give an explanation based on dualism. In the course of his doubts, he realizes that it was not so easy to understand his mind or the nature of the material things unless one decides to take them as completely distinct. This shows that he was not so sure about what he was doing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Descartes’s proof of the existence of God is not supported by well-argued points. For instance, he tries to make people think that whatever they perceive in the physical world is fancy out of pure imagination, which means that nothing exists physically. Convincing people to doubt even their body’s physical status and the functioning of the physical body organs is quite impossible. This was not true for many. Descartes also tries to make people believe that things are not the way they are seen, at first glance which distorts the way of living of people and their way of thinking. Descartes as well was not in a position to explain fully the mind-body dualism.
Works Cited
Cahn, M.S. Classics of Western Philosophy. Hackett Publisher Company, 2007.
Sarkar H. Descartes Cogito: Saved From The Great Shipwreck. Cambridge University Press, 2003.