Descartes 4th Meditation Essays - 802 Words

After Descartes goes over what he has previously covered, including his proving that God exists and that God is perfect, he begins his fourth meditation. In this meditation, titled Truth and falsity, Descartes contemplates how he, Descartes makes mistakes if he is a product of this perfect being. First, he knows that God would not deceive him, since the will to deceive is a sign of weakness or hatred, and Gods perfection would not allow it. Second, if God created him, God is responsible for his judgment, and so his sense of judgment must be flawless as long as he uses it correctly. The question at hand is, why does Descartes make mistakes if he is the product of God, who is a perfect being. In Descartes fourth meditation he gives some†¦show more content†¦Therefore, we would not have the perfect existence. If we dont believe that there is a perfect being then how can we ourselves become perfect beings? If there isnt a perfect creator, what can humans base their perfection on? Descartes now proposes a solution to the problem of his question, why are we not perfect beings if our creator himself is perfect. My interpretation of Descartes solution is that when future problems arise we must hold back from making any choices or casting any judgment until the problem has been clearly thought out and any thoughts of faultiness have been removed. We as imperfect beings can only reach the truth if we can fully comprehend the right from the wrong. Because we have been given the gift of free will, we were also given the abilities determine the differences between right and wrong. Therefore, before making any judgments we must think our judgment through and not think indifferently, this will only bring us one step closer to the perfection of our creator. This however, will never bring us to the exact perfection of our maker. Since we have been given the gift of free will, we undoubtedly will make mistakes. By using the solution to Descartes problem we will be abl e to strive for our ultimate perfection, however due to our free will and human nature, we will never indeed reach the perfection of the perfect being who created us. Descartes solution does prove to be true if only we follow it. If we thinkShow MoreRelatedA Brief Look at Rene Descartes829 Words   |  3 Pages Rene Descartes was a brilliant man who came up with many inventions and thoughts to put in people’s minds and let them ponder off and question life in itself. In one of the many things Rene Descartes created, he wrote a book called Discourse on the Method and Meditations. Descartes discusses how there are two main proofs of God’s existence, the casual argument in meditation three and the ontological argument in meditation five. 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WhatRead MorePhilosophy 101 Study Guide Essay3857 Words   |  16 Pagesyou turn in the completed study guide prior to the exam, either †¢ as a MS Word attachment sent by e-mail to jeffrey.j.watson@asu.edu, with the subject line â€Å"PHI 101 STUDY GUIDE WARRANTY†, or †¢ as a paper copy turned in to the SHPRS office on the 4th floor of Coor hall, time-stamped and clearly marked on the top page â€Å"Jeff Watson, Phi 101†, or †¢ as a paper copy turned in on the day of the exam prior to picking up your exam. and you take the quiz and answer all 60 of the multiple-choice true/false