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Descartes ' Meditations On First Philosophy

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Conner Ruhl
Professor Copley
Philosophy 1000C
4 May 2015 Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy Rene Descartes was the first great philosopher of the modern era, He had a new approach which was focused on scientific and mathematical truths. Descartes came to reject the scholastic tradition, one of which he was educated, due to his pursuit of mathematical and scientific truth. Much of Descartes work was done to secure advancement of human knowledge through the use of the natural sciences. His radical and unorthodox philosophy went against the church but Descartes managed to cautiously express his radical work in its entirety. In Descartes Meditations he focuses on universal truths and their proof of existence. In Meditation 5, Descartes speaks about his proofs of mathematical truths and the existence of god. There are 3 parts that he focuses on in his Meditation 5 and they are the distinction between fabricated and innate things, the second proof of gods existence, and his overcoming of the origins argument and recovering mathematical knowledge.
Descartes speaks about the distinction between innate and fabricated things. An innate thing is defined as something natural. Fabricated on the other hand is defined as something constructed or manufactured. According to Descartes, innate ideas have a “determinate nature, essence, or form which is unchangeable and eternal.” He uses the example of a triangle to provide proof of this. He points out what seems to be unique

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