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Descartes' Argument On The Existence of God and the Third Meditation - College Paper

Descartes' Argument On The Existence of God and the Third Meditation

1. In The Third Meditation, section three, Descartes states, "I thought I clearly perceived, although, in truth, I did not perceive it at all; I mean the existence of objects external to me, from which those ideas proceeded." Here, the philosopher formulates his theory of ideas. Ideas are the fundamental building blocks of thought and they have the power to influence one's perception of the world. Descartes notes that which is perceived by the physical senses at once seems entirely real. We take for granted that what we see, hear, feel, smell, or taste is based in objective reality. However, we can only be certain of the ideas in our mind. These ideas cause us to construe the universe. ...

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arises from ideas and comprises the judgments, emotions, and subjective import we place on the images in our heads.
Descartes notes that ideas are real, but that they should not be mistaken for external reality because they are only real insofar as they are personal, subjective thoughts: "if these are considered only in themselves, and are not referred to any object beyond them, they cannot, properly speaking, be false... the chief and most ordinary error that arises in them consists in judging that the ideas which are in us are like or conformed to the things that are external to us," (Meditation Three, section 6).
There are three sources for the ideas in our heads: innate ideas, adventitious ideas, and invented ideas. It is difficult to know from where any idea truly originates; in fact, the meditator notes that we can easily lump all ideas into one of these three categories. Moreover, the idea does not always accurately represent its original, objective object. Descartes' ...

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Descartes' Argument On The Existence of God and the Third Meditation. (2016, March 22). Retrieved November 22, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Descartes-Argument-Existence-God-Third-Meditation/105493

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 3/22/2016 03:25:33 AM
Category: Philosophy
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1064
Pages: 4

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