Phil 30I W25 Lecture 2.2

Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy

• Course: Early UC Riverside, Winter 2025

• Instructor: Matic Kastelec

Lecture 2.2: The Third and Fourth Meditations

1. Evaluate Descartes’s proofs for God’s existence.

2. Role of proofs in Meditations regarding the Truth Rule.

3. Descartes’s theory of error and human responsibility for mistakes.

The Third Meditation: The Existence of God

• Main Claims:

  • God exists.

  • God is not a deceiver.

  • Trust in clear and distinct ideas.

Clarity and Distinctness

• Clarity: Accessible perception to the attentive mind.

• Distinctness: Sharp separation from other perceptions.

• Truth Rule: "Whatever I perceive very clearly and distinctly is true."

Importance of Proving a Non-Deceiving God

• Eliminates doubt regarding clear and distinct ideas.

• Certainty about knowledge hinges on the existence of a non-deceiving God.

• Truth Rule provides a method for discovering certainty.

Causal Proof of God’s Existence

1. Clear idea of an actually infinite being.

2. A cause must possess at least as much reality as the effect.

3. Therefore, the existence of an actually infinite being follows.

Potential Arguments Against the Conclusion

1. Premises do not support the conclusion.

2. Presence of a false premise.

Premise 1: My Idea of God

• Clear and distinct idea of an infinite being.

• Definition of God: Infinite, eternal, immutable, etc.

• Discussion on whether finite intellects can comprehend infinity.

Premise 2: The Causal Principle

• Nothing comes from nothing.

• The greater cannot arise from the lesser.

Premise 3: The Only Possible Cause

• Only feasible cause of the idea of an actually infinite being is an actually infinite being from external sources.

Conclusion: God Exists

• Affirmation of the existence of an actually infinite being.

God's Non-Deception

1. Deception is seen as imperfection/delusion.

2. A perfect God cannot deceive; deception contradicts divine perfection.

The Fourth Meditation: Truth and Falsity

• Key claims:

  • Errors arise when conclusions are made without clear and distinct ideas.

  • Human responsibility in judgment is outlined.

Descartes’s Theory of Judgment

• Judgment: cooperation between intellect (perception of ideas) and will (affirmation/denial).

• Limitation of human faculties in perceiving ideas.

Error Mechanism

• Errors occur when will is used beyond intellectual limits.

• Judgments made about unclear ideas lead to mistakes.

Responsibility for Errors

• Errors rooted in incorrect use of free will, not from God’s perfection.

The Nature of Freedom in Judgment

• Freedom to affirm or deny; acknowledgment of clear and distinct truths.

  • Freedom of Indifference: choosing among alternatives.

  • Freedom of Spontaneity: compelled to accept clear ideas.

Revisiting the Truth Rule

• Avoid judgments on unclear ideas for correct use of judgment.

• Assenting to clear ideas cannot yield error if God ensures truth.

• Conclusion: Truth Rule remains valid.

Summary of Key Points

• God exists as the cause of the idea of an infinitely perfect being.

• God does not deceive; deception contradicts God’s nature.

• Non-deceptive God affirms the Truth Rule: clear understanding equals truth.

• Responsibility for errors lies in misuse of will in unclear situations.