Descartes
By: Wendy • Essay • 732 Words • January 21, 2010 • 965 Views
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From Descartes' perspective, nature is a representation
of God; therefore, God must intrinsically exist, inasmuch as he, too, is a product of His own creation. Descartes was
one of many philosophers who fully supported this argument
in support of God's existence, contending that the external
world is the ruling force behind the presence of all beings. Descartes' assertions, as portrayed within the literary
boundaries of Meditations on First Philosophy, were founded
not in cosmological or ontological arguments but rather in
teleological debate, inasmuch as the philosopher believed
that there has to be an omnipotent entity responsible for
all the purpose and order that is found within natural
existence and, thereby, stimulating a sense of wonder about
the world.
One of the primary reasons why Meditation III brings
forth such a sense of wonder is because Descartes'
philosophical writings followed a very distinctive trail,
one that pursued a path of purity and sincerity. He
believed deeply in the value of ethics as it related to
humans within the natural world, and his concept of forming
an adequate ethical code was thought to be the only way in
which people could truly base their value system. Within
this natural world of which he spoke, Descartes theorized
that knowledge was the ultimate controller of the
environment, thus supporting the teleological argument as
proof of God. He persevered and postulated as to how he
could at last seal the overwhelming gap that existed between
thought and action. It was through his writings that
Descartes exercised the possibility that all thought and
action are interconnected, bringing to mind the view of
science and how it undoubtedly demonstrated the same
evidence.
Characteristic of humanity's constant quest for the
concept of God's existence, the journey of understanding has
come to represent myriad things to myriad people, ultimately
rendering any universal explanation virtually impossible. The problem with such sought-after meaning is attempting to
successfully pinpoint a single yet comprehensive connotation
to its concept; however, this cannot be achieved as long as
any two individuals harbor decidedly different
interpretations. "I shall now close my eyes, I shall stop
my ears, I shall call away all my senses, I shall efface
even from my thoughts all the images of corporeal things, or
at least (for that is hardly possible) I shall esteem them
as vain and false; and thus holding converse only with
myself and considering my own nature, I shall try little by
little to reach a better knowledge of and a more familiar
acquaintanceship with myself" (Descartes PG).
Inasmuch as Descartes provides a naturalistic theory
for God's existence, which is based upon human nature's
philosophical reasoning, this form of mitigated conviction
is what essentially supports his stance on God's existence
through teleology. When discussing alternate restriction on
philosophical position, it is important to consider the
fundamental basis of Descartes' principles