Priori Foundations Descartes
Descartes believes that all knowledge must rest on a priori foundations. This claim is proven through his acceptance in the idea of God as most true and that innate ideas are relearned.
Descartes states that his understanding of “God a certain substance that is infinite,independent and supremely powerful...the more carefully I focus my attention on them, the less possible it seems they could have arisen out of myself alone”(Meditations And Discourse on Methods 45-46). Descartes sees himself as a finite substance, which gives him access to understand other finite substances, but in contrast he finds “more reality in an infinite substance than there is in a finite substance”(45-46). He comes to the conclusion that his “perception of the infinite is somehow prior in me to the perception of the finite”(45-46). The idea of God is too great for the human mind, not being perfect, to come up with by itself. Descartes not only finds the idea of God to be a priori, but also the “most true, the most clear and distinct”(46-47). Knowledge gradually increases, but the concept of God can not be increased because he is already the image of perfection. An objection to the thought of God resting on an a priori foundation, …show more content…
One might think that the innate ideas that Descartes claims are only clear to understand due to content. This might be the case when thinking about shapes, but the concept of God is not only intricate, but also a very difficult to wrap one’s mind around. Descartes states that “ the only things that fully convince me are those that I clearly and distinctly perceive”(68-69). Knowledge must be based on the ability to distinctly understand a concept, and a priori knowledge is clear like no other internally.
An a priori foundation is a necessity to knowledge, due to its clear and concise nature in one’s
Descartes states that his understanding of “God a certain substance that is infinite,independent and supremely powerful...the more carefully I focus my attention on them, the less possible it seems they could have arisen out of myself alone”(Meditations And Discourse on Methods 45-46). Descartes sees himself as a finite substance, which gives him access to understand other finite substances, but in contrast he finds “more reality in an infinite substance than there is in a finite substance”(45-46). He comes to the conclusion that his “perception of the infinite is somehow prior in me to the perception of the finite”(45-46). The idea of God is too great for the human mind, not being perfect, to come up with by itself. Descartes not only finds the idea of God to be a priori, but also the “most true, the most clear and distinct”(46-47). Knowledge gradually increases, but the concept of God can not be increased because he is already the image of perfection. An objection to the thought of God resting on an a priori foundation, …show more content…
One might think that the innate ideas that Descartes claims are only clear to understand due to content. This might be the case when thinking about shapes, but the concept of God is not only intricate, but also a very difficult to wrap one’s mind around. Descartes states that “ the only things that fully convince me are those that I clearly and distinctly perceive”(68-69). Knowledge must be based on the ability to distinctly understand a concept, and a priori knowledge is clear like no other internally.
An a priori foundation is a necessity to knowledge, due to its clear and concise nature in one’s