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Descartes, Hume and the Existence of God

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             The idea of being infinite implies that there is existence. Thus God exists. Descartes draws his last conclusion that God exists because of the reasoning that he is imperfect but able to possess the idea of perfection. Descartes believed that he was his own cause. From there he believed that if he is his own cause and he had the idea of perfection, then he is perfect. Descartes reasoned that he is imperfect, making a contradiction with himself that if he is imperfect then he can't be perfect. Through this reasoning Descartes had to reject the idea that he was perfect and imperfect. Descartes still possessed the idea of perfection even though he was imperfect. Descartes reasoned that if he wasn't perfect then he had to discard the idea that he is his own cause and that God is his cause to allow him to possess the idea of perfection. Thus God exists. .
             Descartes ruled out that the Evil Genius could be implanting thoughts of the existence God in his mind due to the fact that God is perfect, and I said above, the Evil Genius is not perfect. In order for people to accept Descartes Philosophical reasoning, they need to believe that there is a God. Descartes presupposition is that everyone who reads his meditations is people who believe in the existence of God and that he is perfect. If people don't have those presuppositions (i.e. Atheists) then Descartes argument is disregarded because that's the basis around how certainty is achieved. I believe that Descartes argument for the existence of God makes logical sense and satisfies the need for his other argument that we need to know if anything is certain anymore because of the Evil Genius. I am convinced of the argument that he uses to contradict the Evil Genius. The steps of reasoning Descartes goes through to contradict the idea of an Evil Genius logically makes sense and is convincing that there is a God. .
             Descartes Vs. Hume .
             Descartes lived from 1596-1650; he was a rationalist who wrote a book named Meditations on First Philosophy.


Essays Related to Descartes, Hume and the Existence of God

1. Descartes and Hume - Rationalism and Empiricism

This is better because according to Hume, God doesn't exist. ... "Yet each of them, both Pascal and Descartes tried to make the knowledge of God's existence the independent groundwork of the whole of man's knowledge and life"(Keeling 41). This quote says that Descartes and Pascal, although different, both tried to make God's existence the most important thing in philosophy. ... Secondly, Hume disagrees over the existence of God because he is an atheist and does not believe in any "higher" being. ... Secondly, Descartes would argue that just because Hume ...

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2. Descartes

Descartes doubts the existence of external objects based upon the idea that an "evil genius" exists instead of an ideally good God. ... In discussing the existence of external objects, Descartes must also include the existence of God. The existence of God is based upon the "ontological argument". ... Descartes attempts to prove the existence of God and his own self. ... Descartes also argues that without God we would not exist because God causes things in this world to exist, that is ourselves and the idea of God's existence. ...

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3. The Existence Of God

Descartes God is an infinite perfect being that causes all effects including ideas. ... Therefore, Hume does not believe there is enough evidence to conclude that there is a God. ... So Descartes takes this idea of God and uses it to draw out the necessity of God's existence. ... I agree with Descartes arguments but I don't think he provided enough proof for God's existence, he just proved how we could define God. ... However, some of these philosophers have made arguments for the existence of God such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Descartes. ...

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4. On david hume and rene descartes

On David Hume and Rene Descartes "There are more things in heaven and Earth than dreamt of in your philosophy" (Shakespeare, 211). ... Descartes focus on the concept of methodological doubt and the concept of innate knowledge and oppose against Hume's experimental knowledge and cause effect relations. ... Hume's arguments about gathering information from the outer world objects are contradicting against Descartes certain and necessary truths. ... Hume goes on and says that if miracles are things that occur out of custom and experience, then the only true miracle is that of the fait...

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5. On David Hume And Rene Descartes

On David Hume and Rene Descartes "There are more things in heaven and Earth than dreamt of in your philosophy" (Shakespeare, 211). ... Descartes focus on the concept of methodological doubt and the concept of innate knowledge and oppose against Hume's experimental knowledge and cause effect relations. ... Hume's arguments about gathering information from the outer world objects are contradicting against Descartes certain and necessary truths. ... Hume goes on and says that if miracles are things that occur out of custom and experience, then the only true miracle is that of the fait...

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6. Does God Exist

Descartes" argumentation is flawed and does not adequately prove the existence of God. ... Descartes, a famous rationalist thinker, insisted that God does exist, and utilized rationalistic premise to deduce his proof for God's existence. ... Hume held the belief in only a moral existence. He did not try to argue the existence of a God, although he did not try to prove God's existence. ... Descartes begins by describing God as "infinite". ...

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7. Philosophy

In Meditation on First Philosophy, Descartes argues many points from his existence to all the false beliefs and ideas he had accepted from childhood. ... The first thing he is sure of is his existence. ... Finally, Hume provided a critique of skepticism in An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. Hume differentiates between two types of skepticism: antecedent and consequent skepticism. ... In conclusion, Hume believes that reasoning about facts is only supported by experience and there are no proofs of its existence and non-existence on a substance. ...

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8. Epistemology - Philosophical Study of Knowledge

God exists because you understand that he exists. ... By using the senses to experience our existence, looking at the body, you know you exist. ... However, the external world does exist because it is being perceived by God. ... He is a skeptic about the existence of the external world, causation and inductive reasoning. ... By understanding the world through cause and effect you generate hypotheses (Hume p.269). ...

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9. The Ontological Argument - The Existence of god

It attempts to prove the existence of God from the meaning of the word God. ... As with any Argument or theory, there are criticisms as well, proposed by philosophers such as, Hume, Kant, Gaunilo and Russell. ... Descartes developed Anselm's argument, but he defines God as, "A supremely perfect being." ... Descartes had proved his own existence, but not of the outside world. ... If God existed and has created the world, then Descartes was satisfied that we could accept the reality of the external world's existence. ...

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