Descartes’

Meditations III
What is the Aim of The Third
Meditation?
Modes of Thought
- Ideas – images of things
- Affects – will and the emotions
- Judgements – Affirmation and Denial

- Affects and Ideas are always true (or can never be false)

- Truth and falsity only apply to judgements.

Types of Ideas
1. Innate
2. Adventitious
3. Produced by me
Light of Nature vs. Natural
Impulse
Light of Nature – source of truth
Natural impulses – sources of error
Two Causal Principles
Fundamental Principle:
Reality [Cause] >= Reality [Effect]

In the case of ideas:

Two types of reality

1. Formal reality [FR]
2. Objective reality [OR]

Derived Principle:
FR [Cause of the Idea] >= OR [Idea]
Proving the Existence of One
other Entity: God
FR [Cause of Idea of God] >= OR [Idea of God]

OR = Infinite Substance
FR >= Infinite Substance

Hence, Cause of the Idea =/= Me or any other entity like me

So, the cause of the Idea of God = God

God exists.
Implications
Idea of God is not the result of the negation of the finite.

Idea of God is not materially false

Idea of God = Idea of Human potential = infinite

Idea of God = Sum total [ideas of partial causes]

Corollaries
God = Cause of my existence

1. There has to be cause of my existence

Conservation = Causation

2. I cannot be caused by my immediate material cause [parents]

3. The Idea of the God as maker’s mark.