Can One Perceive Or Confirm The Existence Of An Idea Or Object That Is External
To Him Mainly - God?
"I think therefore I am." Man wills, refuses, perceives, understands,
and denies many principles. As explained by Rene' Descartes, man is a thinking
thing, a conscious being who truthfully exists because he is certain that it is
so. All that man perceives is internally present and not external to him or his
mind. The focal point of the third meditation that must be dealt with is: Can
one perceive or confirm the existence of an idea or object that is external to
him mainly - God?
There are three ways, Descartes explains, that one may come to the
conclusion of an objects existence. The first is through nature. The second is
through feeling an object independent of one's will, for example; heat and cold.
The third, and most elaborated upon is the point of cause and effect, or more
simply, the objective reality of an idea. We will primarily deal with the third
reason of cause and effect.
Descartes brings some examples to demonstrate his cause and effect
theory. More importantly, is the logic that lies behind the actual theory. The
rationale that an object will have an effect is only if it stems from a
legitimate cause. A stone, for example, cannot be perceived accurately if there
isn't an initial idea preceding with equal or superior properties in one's
intellect. The mind generates ideas and develops reality through previous
schema or beliefs as Descartes states:
"And although an idea may give rise to another idea, this