 Descartes Tackles the Existence of God in Meditation 3 of Meditations on First Philosophy.
To set out to prove or disprove the existence of God is a tall order for any essay. But that is exactly what Meditation 3 of the 300-year-old Meditation on First Philosophy states as it's objective. But the author of the chapter is well equipped to the task as it was the renowned philosopher, Rene Descartes. As such, Meditation 3 is a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in this dialog.
Its helpful to understand the context of philosophical skepticism that Descartes is applying to the question of God's existence in Meditation 3. Meditation on First Philosophy is a historic philosophical discussion that is as much responsible for our western worldview and our emphasis on science and education as any other work of it's time. So when we understand Meditation 3 in context of a longer essay on philosophy that gave us such famous observations as "I think, therefore I am", it sheds light on Descartes' method of understanding the infinite.
By understanding how Descartes came to this point in his evaluation of existence, it helps to place the discussion in the context of a philosophical essay. As such, Meditation 3 addresses the question of the existence of God. But it is not an analysis of God's existence based on scientific systems of proof. The previous meditations leading up to Meditation 3 are quite explicit in bringing doubt on systems of evidence that are based on the senses. In that context, using science to prove the existence of God is not appropriate.
Perhaps even more surprising is that Descartes' exploration into the existence of God in Meditation 3 is NOT a religious argument. There is no room given in the discussion of God's existence in Meditation 3 for faith, belief or spirituality. The underpinnings for Descartes' exploration come from his assumptions from the previous meditations. That proof of whether God exists or not comes from thought and from the mind in that the fact that we are "thinking things" is the grounds for our knowledge that we exist.
Instead Meditation 3 addresses whether the idea of God as held in the mind represents a concept placed there by God, an imagination or a concept only which does not validate the reality of God. The prose in Meditation 3 is profoundly poetic as it patiently explores the nature of that divine idea. In the end, Descartes concludes that the concept of God is so perfected and that it is an image of infinity beyond what could be concocted by the mind. Therefore, this represents by itself a proof that the idea of God was put in our minds by divinity itself.
Meditation 3 does line up with other theological arguments in favor of God's existence in that it supports the thesis that our ability to conceive of God supports the fact that such God exists. Meditation 3 explores the fact that while we have imaginations that can create fantastic beings, from flying horses to Superman, each of these is an expansion of the finite. Our ability to grasp the infinite comes from God because we have no other grounds to create the idea in our natural minds.
While Meditation 3 may not by itself end the discussion about God's existence, it is a fundamental philosophical text to contribute to the dialog. As such Meditation 3 along with the whole of the Meditations on First Philosophy is must reading for all educated people to read and then to reflect upon and understand.
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