The Existence of God: the Arguments of Locke and Descartes

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Descartes believes that God's existence is clear and distinct. God exists because the thought of God is derived from a "completely clear and distinct" idea from within his being (which he concedes is a thinking being). Having come from distinct thoughts, the idea of God can therefore never be considered a falsity. From this very distinct idea of God comes everything else that one grasps distinctly and clearly.

He states, "From the fact that I cannot think of God not existing, it follows that existence cannot be separated from God and thus that he actually exists." (298) The existence of God is something that cannot be separated, just as we cannot separate the idea of an ocean without sand. Descartes explains that man is a finite being. The mind grasps ideas mainly through its perception of such objects. Descartes expounds that he is a thinking thing. He goes on to say that sensations and mental images exist in him as aspects of his thinking. He says that he knows definitively that he exists because he sees clearly and distinctly the composite parts that make up his entire self; therefore, anybody who says that he does not exist is making a false statement because he, as a thinking being, is able to clearly and distinctly grasp his being and thus it is true that he exists.

Descartes' idea of God is one who is distinctly and clearly infinite. As the idea of an infinite being cannot be truly fathomed by a finite mind (his mind), he nevertheless doesn't seek to understand such because he accepts that he is a finite being. He asserts that the idea of God contains everything else that one grasps clearly and distinctly, everything real and true, everything with any perfection. God possessing all qualities perfectly i...

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...as a result of outside forces that attract my senses awaken my knowledge that a Superior Being authors these perceptions. Furthermore, when an inner voice "talks" to me on ideas and emotions I try to sort out and understand more deeply, I recognize that inner voice as God's. When I perceive that there is order in the universe as a whole, in spite of disruptions great and small, I know that God exists. When I experience sorrow and joy, failures and successes; when I am able to think through a problem and figure out a solution, my ability to discern, perceive, and reflect, are proofs that God exists and continues to prove His existence through me. Most of all the gift of free will or volition that I am blessed with, tells me in all certainty that God does exist. And with the certainty of knowing that I am His creature comes the other certainty that God exists for me.

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