a means into explaining the existence of the things he previously doubted
In regards to proving the existence of god , we need to tackle first why Descartes needed to doubt the existence of god . This was a very important step in his philosophy because the theories in his philosophy would have a sounder foundation if he was going to use them to explain the existence of God
As what was stated above , Descartes used the Methodic Doubt in to arrive with the cogito and say his phrase cogito ergo sum ' or I think therefore I am . This cogito exists in a metaphysical plane because Descartes believed that everything that existed in the physical world were not real
The reasons why he had to doubt the physical world include the fact that the senses deceive us . Examples of these are a pencil which gives the illusion of bending after placing it in a glass of water . Others include dreams which a person would consider to be so real until they wake up in bed . And finally , everything in this world is subject to change which he presented after burning a piece of wax and then asking if the residue of the wax is still considered as wax
After doubting the senses , he soon went to doubt the validity of the physical world . In to do this , he asserted that there is a malevolent demon that would deceive us into believing that what we perceive is real . Now that he was able to discard god as the foundation of true knowledge , we now shifts his focus to the cogito
However , being left with the cogito could lead to solipsism , a view wherein a person believes that only the individual exists , since everything existed except the cogito . So Descartes needed to prove the existence of God in to validate the existence of the physical world and free his philosophy from the perils of solipsism
Descartes gave some arguments that led to his proofs of the existence of god . His first proof dealt with the nature of ideas . He classified different kinds of ideas such as those...