Descartes. Argument for GOD.

AQA A2 philosophy Descartes. Focusing on Descartes' arguments for God realting to types and degrees of reality, essential properties and the cartesian circle. 

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  • TYPES & DEGREES of REALITY
    • Formal reality
      • possessed by things simply by virtue of EXISTING
      • INFINITE object will have more FORMAL reality (will exist longer) than a FINITE object
    • Objective reality
      • relating to the REPRESENTATIONAL  content of ideas.
      • IDEA of a FINITE substance will have more OBJECTIVE reality than the idea of one of its properties. (idea of finite is bigger than idea of e.g. colour)
    • Reality also has degrees. e.g. LOGICAL SUBSTANCES have MORE reality than their PROPERTIES.
  • 3. I do not posses the INFINITE FORMAL REALITY required to cause an idea with INFINITE OBJECTIVE reality
    • I have less FORMAL reality than the OBJECTIVE reality of attributes of GOD like INFINITE/ OMNISCIENT etc.
  • 1. Cause of an object must have as much FORMAL reality as the OBJECTIVE reality of its effect.
    • If i have an idea of a ROCK as GREY. the rock must posses GREYNESS for me to have the OBJECTIVE reality of greyness
  • However Descartes uses God's benevolence as the reason to us being able to understand things clearly and distinctly.
    • Either proving God is unessecary because Clear and distint ideas are known alone or we're stuck in a circle
  • Either proving God is unessecary because Clear and distint ideas are known alone or we're stuck in a circle
  • THE DOCTRINE OF ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES.
    • The notion that all substances have a single property which is ESSENTIAL to their existence and DEFINITIVE of their nature
    • The essence of anything can be known through RATIONAL THOUGHT and INTROSPECTION.
    • The essence of a MATERIAL SUBSTANCE is its EXTENSION (shown by the fact that its impossible to conceive of an un-extended material object).

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