FREE ESSAY ON WHY GOD CANNOT EXIST USING DESCARTES' ARGUEMENTS

WHY GOD CANNOT EXIST USING DESCARTES' ARGUEMENTS

Philosophy 300
Sam Black
God Cannot Exist Using Descartes' Argument
Steve Cara
JIBC/SFU Cohort #1
May 25th, 2000
Descartes sets about proving the existence of God through his meditations on knowledge in
an effort to prove the skeptics of his time wrong. He first determines that human
knowledge is based entirely too much on unproved presuppositions. He argues that this
makes it difficult to distinguish between truth and error, since we cannot recognize true
knowledge. Descartes proposes that the quest for knowledge must be based upon universal
doubt. Specifically, he proposes the following in relation to his universal methodic
doubt:
1. In order to seek truth, it is necessary once in the course of our life, to doubt, as
far as possible, of all things.
2. We ought also to consider as false all that is doubtful.
3. We ought not meanwhile to make use of doubt in the conduct of life...
4. Why we may doubt of sensible things.
5. Why we may also doubt of mathematical demonstrations.
6. We cannot doubt of our existence while we doubt, and this is the first knowledge we
acquire when we philosophize in order.
Descartes proceeded to strip away his knowledge base in order to determine the one
indubitable fact, Cogito, ergo sum. From this absolute knowledge of his own existence, he
set about deducing the existence of God through ontological argument.
? In our minds, the idea of God is one of an infinitely perfect Being
? An infinitely perfect being must have existence, otherwise it would not be infinitely
perfect.
? Therefore, God exists.
In proving the existence of God, Descartes set the groundwork for determining that God
created man. He further postulated that God, being infinitely perfect and not a deceiver,
could not have provided man with the deceptive powers of knowledge. Therefore, man's
mental faculties are determined to be trustworthy provided we separate what there is of
clear and distinct in the knowledge from what is obscure and confused. Using this
reasoning, man must discard all previous knowledge which is doubt-ridden, all
sensory-based knowledge (as perceptions can be misleading), and all intellection. As a
result, skepticism is removed and valid knowledge possible.
Descartes primary purpose was the defense of human knowledge against the attacks of the
skeptics. He was justified in excluding preconceived notions, presuppositions, and
traditions in determining the limits of knowledge. Descartes discarded the ability of the
mind to know truth and the human abilities of contradiction and sufficient reason. In
doing so, he made a solution to the problem impossible.
As it relates to his theory of the existence of God, Descartes universal doubt refutes
his own conclusion as to God's existence. Descartes formed an idea of God as an
infinitely good being. He would have had to discover this idea within his own mind.
According to his principle of universal doubt, he cannot simply know whether his
conception of God is correct or incorrect. He would have, as a matter of his own
principle, considered it as false until proven otherwise. Therefore, since the idea of
God is in doubt, the trustworthiness of man's reasoning must also be doubtful and
Descartes cannot escape his own real doubt.
Descartes uses a process of reasoning, a mathematical formulae, in attempting to
demonstrate God's existence. If his reasoning is of demonstrably doubtful validity, how
can Descartes demonstrate God's existence? The validity of Descartes reasoning is
supposed to flow as a consequence of the infinite perfection of God; and God's infinite
perfect is made certain through Descartes' reasoning powers before he has even proven
that these reasoning powers are valid and trustworthy. Descartes assumes the very thing
beforehand which he intends to prove afterwards. (Begging the question).
Descartes accepts the trustworthiness of his faculties in demonstrating the existence and
infinite perfection of God, and that is illegitimate. A doubtfully valid faculty will
produce a doubtfully valid argument which will, in turn, produce a doubtfully valid
conclusion. The entire argument for God's existence is therefore nullified by a suspect
reasoning process. Since he proves the reliability of his reason and process by means of
God's veracity, the proof of his reliability cannot be established beyond doubt.
Thus, Descartes attempt to vindicate the validity of human knowledge failed, because, by
rejecting the reliability of his own powers to discover and know truth, he made it
impossible for himself to remove himself from his own universal doubt. Further, Descartes
has marked inconsistencies in the manner in which he applies his procedure. He purports
to reject everything in his pursuit of fundamental knowledge, even principles of
contradiction and sufficient reason. In reality, he does not. He assumes the truth of
these principles and uses them repeatedly.
Cogito ergo sum is based upon the validity of the principle of contradiction. This
principle states that it is impossible for something to be and not be at the same time.
Descartes becomes aware of his own existence by thinking or doubting. Why? Because he
perceives that it is impossible to think and not think and to exist and not exist at the
same time. If he were consistent and seriously doubted the principle of contradiction, he
would have to agree that it is possible for an entity to think and not think, to exist
and not exist at the same time. Then, according to his own supposition, he could not be
sure after all that the fact of his existence is certain. Only by granting the validity
and truth of the principle of contradiction beforehand, can his existence be established
as an objective fact. That is exactly what he does.
The same line of reasoning applies to his proof of God's existence and infinite
perfection. Descartes rejection of the principle of contradiction invalidates his
arguments because, as long as this principle is not established and accepted, he could
never be sure whether it would be possible for God to exist and not exist at the same
time.
Similarly, Descartes would have to remain doubtful as to whether God could be veracious
and not veracious, deceiving and not deceiving unless the principle of contradiction was
taken for granted before Descartes begins to prove God's existence. Descartes does not
accept this principle of contradiction throughout his reasoning. This is a glaring
inconsistency in his arguments.
Descartes further conducts his inquiry into the existence of God with the supposition
that he doubts the principles of sufficiency and causality. Unfortunately, he uses these
principles before he has proven their validity. To wit: Descartes a posteriori argument
for the existence of God.
Descartes believes that God is an infinitely perfect being that could not have originated
in our minds because an idea such as this would exceed the causality of the mind, as the
mind is less perfect than the content of the idea itself. Consequently, the idea had to
be produced by God himself otherwise there would be no sufficient reason for the presence
of such an idea in the mind.
Clearly, Descartes uses the principles of sufficient reason and causality in
demonstrating the existence of God, even though he doubts their validity. Therefore, if
he lets these principles stand as doubtful, his entire argument is nullified by doubt. If
he accepts them as valid prior to establishing their validity, he is acting in contrary
to his fundamental doubt doctrine. In either case, he makes the existence of God
impossible.


  
    
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Betham
The story of Doctor Faustus is a familiar myth, in which the main character sells his
soul , makes a deal with the devil, for something he speciously holds more valuable.
There are many versions of this story in our culture, and it would take quite a time to
make note of them all. Most people will have seen or heard one of the various stories in
the for of a book, play, movie, or television show. The original story of Doctor Faustus,
as created by Christopher Marlow, was prevalent to society at the time because it spoke
to people's growing dizzy awareness of their possibilities and capabilities at this time.
By that explanation it seems that the classic Marlow play, Doctor Faustus, would also be
a hit because in the countries of the world there are many a growing multicultural
society, for whom there are continually growing possibilities and capabilities. This is
also a similar state of affairs for how one might perceive the women's movement, as women
are gaining more equality inside and outside o f the workplace. Also, for society as a
whole, one is being exposed to the ever growing world of computers and the world wide
web. The largest and most significant change I would make in an attempt to adapt Doctor
Faustus so that it would be more engineered towards to today's audience is that I would
make Doctor Faustus a Dr. Faustesse. I would make an attempt to portray the main
character Faustus, as a women, Faustesse, in an attempt to update the concerns for which
the play represents. By having a female character fall to the devil to gain power over
society it symbolizes and signifies the constant struggle of women, even in today's
society, to get past the very patriarchal dominated social structures and institutions
and inequalities. That Dr. Faustesse is an educated women also represents the good of the
changing such that it is a normal state of affairs for a female to have gone through an
immense amount of schooling , which used to me more common for only males, and that she
as a female has a variety of opportunities open to her, even though none satisfy
Faustesse, and that is the reason she makes a pact with the devil in first place. In
order to complete the adaptation of the play to today's standards, keeping in mind the
main character is a female, and in an attempt to involve the audience in what is going on
both metatheatrically and thematically in the play, there a few scenes in particular
which I would highlight to get some newly made effects and concepts of the story across
more effectively. One scene I would highlight is act 1, scene 3. This is the scene where
Faustesse sets out the terms of her pact with the devil. I would highlight this part for
a number of reasons. First off, Faustesse jumps when she first sees Mephostophilis. I
feel this is a very important aspect of the play because in one moment it shows a theme
which is as prevalent at the end of the play as much as it is at the beginning. When
Faustesse jumps at the sight of the Devil and orders him back in a different shape it
shows that maybe she is not necessarily ready to take on the Devil to get what she wants,
and that Hell and other such things in the same league are not really what Faustesse is
looking for to solve her problems, and that such experiences are not really suited to
her, and this is seen at the end, as Faustesse's time draws to and end and she tries to
look towards God to help. Another reason I would highlight this part of the play is
because this scene where Faustesse decides that she is going to bargain with the devil
and sell her soul for power, where she bargains the contract under which she will sell
her soul is the basis of the play itself, and sets the stage for the rest of the play.
Since Faustesse is a female, it expresses the limit to which Faustesse is willing to go
to so that she may no longer be oppressed, as a women and a scholar, in a still very
patriarchal society. This one scene shows the extent too which she will go to gain power
in society and can be looked upon as a generalization to the whole female population as
needing to continue to move forward and hold power in society. However, as we see
throughout the play, Dr. Faustesse does not use the power in the numerous productive ways
for which it could have been used. In the case of either a male of female Faustus, there
is the opportunity to do great things with the power acquired. With a female Faustesse,
she has the power to attain a new level of female achievement, and change societal views
of women inevitably, yet instead of doing this, or something similarly productive or
worthwhile , Faustesse wastes her time playing tricks. Since the whole basis of this
concept, and the power which Faustesse hold originates in the scene where Faustesse first
bargains her soul, Act 1 Scene3, I would make it a point to bring out this opening event.
Another scene I plan to focus on is when Lucifer calls up the seven deadly sins. I would
like to place emphasis on this scene not so much to emphasize any thematic significance
it may contain relative to the plot, but rather to use it as a scene of artistic
expression, especially costumewise, in which I will reconnect with the audience of the
play through the costumes and characters presented as the several deadly sins, and this I
believe will help to lessen the drastic differences between this play when it was
written, and the modern play which will be being performed. In the scene where Lucifer is
introducing the seven deadly sins I plan to have very unique costuming for each of the
scenes. In an attempt to familiarize the audience with the seven deadly sins I will have
each of the sins look like a former Hollywood star. The star for each sin will be someone
who the audience recognizes, and whom the audience would have attributed the traits which
the sin implies, to that Hollywood persona. For example lechery (lust) would be
represented by a character dressed as Marilyn Monroe, where as gluttony may be
represented as Brian Wilson (member of the Beach Boys who stayed in bed for an extended
period of time), and gluttony would be represented by a character looking like some actor
such as John Candy or Chris Farley, who are known not only for their extra large size,
but also for their indulgent behaviors. Other characters in the play will be dressed in a
modern styles, particularly Dr. Faustesse and Mephistopholis. Dr. Faustesse will be
wearing a women's suit, one which could be described as a power suit by today's
standards, with power suit describing the stylish dress of today's corporate working
women, and the tailored suits in which they wear. As Faustesse's life moves through out
the play, the suit will gradually progress to less dress and professional clothes, such
as a fitting sweater and pants, and then gradually less professional, such as baggy old
jeans or sweat pants, and a sweat shirt. This clothing scheme for Dr. Faustesse will
symbolize hew move away from the professional world which she had at her fingertips at
the beginning of the play, and away from the ability to positively use her power, towards
a slob appearance at the end, as through the years, she has become no longer professional
and has fallen into the habit of only playing tricks, using her power for silly reasons,
to the point that looking like a slob she inters hell at the end. By Faustesse looking
like a slob when she is taken off to hell at the end, also symbolizes the struggle of
women because in order to be accepted in the professional world one must not only be
skilled and able to act professionally, but must also fit a certain image of how they are
supposed to look to be accepted. Mephistopholis Will be dressed first as an ugly
grotesque creature, until Faustesse tells him to come back in a different form, at which
point he will appear dressed as a well to do man, in a designer suit, for the rest of the
play, until he returns to take Faustesse to hell, at which point he will not be a human
presence, but rather a red spotlight, with words reverberating around the theater as he
speaks the words "fools that will laugh on earth, often weep in hell" This is to bring
out the metatheatrical meaning of what he is saying, and to add importance to that
passage, and more importantly, that line. I plan on using a circular stage, but one in
which only half the stage is visible to the audience, who are seated from one side of
half the stage to the other side of the half stage. The back half of the stage would be
shielded by a curtain. There are a variety of reasons why I would choose to use the half
stage as the stage for the performance of this modern day version of the play. First of
all, with only half of the stage being visible, it is representative of Faustesse's
personality, where at the beginning she only thinks about the physical and the present,
such as what she would do with the magic power in the present, as in what tricks she
plans on playing, and she does not think about the future,, neither in what she may do in
her future, or about what a future of eternity in hell really means, she simply doesn't
comprehend such an everlasting idea. Another feature of the stage will be that it wills
lowly rotate, such that at the end of the play the stage will have turned 18o degrees so
that the audience is not viewing the opposite side of the stage from when the play first
started out. The idea presented behind the rotating stage is that as the stage is turning
the years are passing, representing the time frame of 24 ears in which the play takes
place. Also, as the stage slowly progresses and turns for ward time, we begin to se
Faustesse future which was formerly covered in darkness at the beginning of the play, and
we begin to see what Dr. Faustesse future reveals. When at the end of the play the stage
has completed its turn, it is symbolic of how Faustesse has reached the end of her
physical life, and has in fact, with only her soul to forever live on in eternal
damnation. The stage is no longer moving, and physical time is no longer moving forth
either. Although it may make coherent sense to compliment the moving stage with scenery
changing over time, I however would choose to have the same standard scene as the
background for all Faustesse scenes. Using the same background scene would represent that
although time has passed, and times outside of Faustesse have been changing, she herself
has still not matured past the reverie of the power she was given for anything but
trickery, and so despite any smarts attained during her initial education, has hence not
grown intellectually at all for she has not used her power for any productive reasoning.
Thus, I feel, the stagnant background will for that reason accurately represent the
non-existent change of Dr. Faustesse, even over and throughout a physical conception of
time. One feature of the play which I feel will add a general feeling to the play is that
of music and sound effects. I would use very disharmonic sound effects throughout the
play. I think that this would help to empathize and draw out the disharmony of the play
itself, and the idea of being torn between heaven and hell, as Faustesse very much is.
Also, disharmonious sounds would leave the audience feeling confused, anxious, and
unsure, which is how I believer they are supposed to feel throughout the play, while
Faustesse is wasting away her power on silly tricks. One musical addition I would make
for the play is that of introducing the chorus as a musical number. Whenever the chorus
is meant to speak, instead there will be a musical number in which the lines of the
chorus are the lyrics of the song instead. This will also contribute to the disharmony
and discord, by having a song break out where it is somewhat inappropriate and least
expected. Through all these methods I think that the play will be more effective to
todays audience. By heightening the emotion of the play itself, I believe the play will
be more acute for today's audience, who have been exposed to countless emotions through
the expansion of the movie industry, and have therefor become somewhat immune to a
certain amount of emotion. Also, I believe that by bringing up to date certain costumes,
staging, and musical aspects for the play, the play itself will be richer and more
authentic, hence able to reach the modern day audience more effectively. Completing this
update, I feel, is the introduction of the women lead, playing the part of Faustesse, as
this will symbolize many issues of societal struggles that have been prevalent in society
in the near past, and will continue to be in the near future. For these reasons, and
variety of changes, I feel that this is how the play Doctor Faustus by Christopher
Marlow, should be updated to reach an acceptable modern standard for theatrical
productions.