February 1- Meditation III-b

7/24/2019 February 1- Meditation III-b

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Meditation III:

God Exists (continued)1


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Descartes

Taxonomy of the

Mind

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Descartes Theory

of IdeasDescartes preface to the Meditations (not

in your book): ... there is an ambiguity

here in the word idea. Idea can be takenmaterially, as an operation of the

intellect, in which case it cannot be said to

be more perfect than me. Alternatively, it

can be taken objectively, as the thing

represented by that operation; and this

thing, even if it is not regarded as existing

outside the intellect, can still, in virtue

of its essence, be more perfect than

myself. 4


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Recall what Descartes

Needs for Argument for

Gods Existence

Descartes needs four things for his argument:

1. causal principle

2. truth criterion: any clear and distinct perception is true

3. theory of ideas, especially idea as act and idea as

object

4. an account of what he means by degrees ofperfection

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Degrees of perfection

Two crucial elements for his degrees of perfection:

1. Recall his acceptance of the Aristotelian subject-

attribute (or substance-mode) ontology:

substance/subject: independent

attribute/mode: dependent

2. His distinction between the infinite and the finite

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of Ideas

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Kinds of Arguments for

Gods existence

ontological versus cosmological arguments forGods existence

Descartes ideational argument for Godsexistence: its relation with the cosmologicalargument

how Descartes first argument for Gods existenceworks

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One Problem in The Meditations:

The Cartesian Circle

One big worry with Descartes strategy throughoutMeditations I through III: a vicious circle? (see pp.139-143 in your text)

Descartes response to the criticism: knowledge I amhaving here and now; versus knowledge merelyremembered

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February 1- Meditation III-b

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