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DESCARTES & THOMAS AQUINAS.
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Compares philosophers' skepticism. Doubt, proofs of God, faith, reason.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Compares philosophers' skepticism. Doubt, proofs of God, faith, reason.
Paper Introduction:
OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Objective of essay.
2. General comments on skepticism.
3. Brief statement on Rene Descartes' approach to philosophy.
4. Brief statement on Saint Thomas Aquinas' approach to theology.
II. SKEPTICISM--THE APPROACHES OF THOMAS AQUINAS AND RENE DESCARTES
1. Descartes' method.
2. Cartesian Doubt.
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New York: Mentor. Anselm describes God as a Being who is so perfect thatfurther perfection would be impossible to imagine. Now if you eliminate a cause you also eliminate its effects, so thatyou cannot have a last cause, nor an intermediate one, unless you have afirst. For, if a mind could conceive of abeing better than thee, the creature would rise above the Creator, and thisis most absurd" (Mavrodes and Hackett, 1967, pp. Cartesian Doubt. All quotations from Descartes'"Meditations on First Philosophy" are taken from this edition. (1969). SKEPTICISM--THE APPROACHES OF THOMAS AQUINAS AND RENE DESCARTES1. Due to the fact that God exists and isperfect, Descartes can be certain that God would not deceive him concerningthe truth of this. References Aquinas, Thomas, (Thomas Gilby, . Philosophers or theologians ofthis type are really arguing 'words'--not reality. Aquinas, then, searched for certainty with respect to Christiandoctrine, and Descartes quested after epistemological certitude.SKEPTICISM--THE APPROACHES OF THOMAS AQUINAS AND RENE DESCARTES As various points are raised, the ideas of Aquinas and Descartes willbe examined as appropriate to the analysis. Mavrodes, George I. . One is the theory of Democritus, which reduces all knowledgeto sensation and imagination, the other is the Platonic outlook, accordingto which sensation provides no more than the occasion upon which theunderstanding climbs to contemplate the spiritual world of forms"(Freemantle, 1954, p. Objective of essay. . Descartes knows that he is alive andthinking, but this does not establish the reality of God. Chicago: Open Court. Thisapproach is, of course, exactly the opposite of the modern scientificmethod, which is inductive in its quest for answers about the universe.The method of Aquinas, for instance, could never have brought forth thescientific developments of the twentieth century; but that would not havebeen his purpose anyway, since his main concern was in building areasonable theology about the Christian faith. Of course, the possibility of being deceived by an evildemon is considered by Descartes. Basically, Descartes generates in his Discourse on Method a proofsimilar to that of Aquinas: ". Yet, this raises a question concerning the existence of God: How didDescartes know that God exists? (1969). They interpret the endless series, which it excludes, not as aregress of events back in time, but as an endless, and therefore,inconclusive regress of explanations. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.----------------------- 3 Yet, as a philosopher,Descartes' ultimate objective was not religious, but he was interestedparticularly in establishing human knowledge on the most sturdy foundationpossible. He presented the Aristotelian view as a mean betweentwo extremes. 68-69). Brief statement on Saint Thomas Aquinas' approach to theology.II. Descartes used two proofs of God: (1) The ontological argument forthe existence of God, which was developed in the eleventh century by SaintAnselm, who was perhaps the greatest theologian ever to have been theArchbishop of Canterbury; and (2) The first cause argument, which was oneof the proofs developed by Saint Thomas Aquinas by way of Aristotle. Descartes, Rene, (Margaret D. I shall considermyself as having no hands, no eyes, no flesh, no blood, nor any senses, yetfalsely believing myself to possess all these things; I shall remainobstinately attached to this idea, and if by this means it is not in mypower to arrive at the knowledge of any truth, I may at least do what is inmy power . But this is only to be expected with regard totheological matters. The Bible simply assumes that the existence of Godis a fact and goes on from there. 191). 4. New York: Image Books. Perhaps the writers of Scripture felt itto be foolish to prove God's existence by logic alone. General comments on skepticism. 4. An examination of Aquinas' second proof willdemonstrate his method. OUTLINEI. all the things which we clearly anddistinctly conceive are true, is certain only because God is or exists, andbecause all that we possess is derived from him" (Descartes, 1962, p. Cartesian doubt, then, proceeds to be skeptical of everything exceptthe thinker's own thoughts. If, for example, as muchmodern science suggests, causal laws state statistical probabilities, or if(as David Hume argued) causal connections represent mere observedsequences, or are (as Immanuel Kant thought) projections of the structureof the human mind, the Thomist argument is refuted. Thus Anselm states: "Sotruly, therefore, dost thou exist, o Lord, my God, that thou canst not beconceived not to exist; and rightly. INTRODUCTION 1. . The very fact Descartes knew he was thinking wasenough to convince him that no demon could deceive him about that.Consequently, Descartes based his epistemology on the integrity of hismind; while in contrast, Aquinas found faith to be the answer to histheological concerns. Essentially, Aquinas was of theopinion that there must be a First Cause or the universe is ultimatelyunintelligible. Descartes and two proofs of God. Although Descartes does away with everything,he can at least think. . And so, Descartesstates in "Meditation V": "While from the fact that I cannot conceive Godwithout existence, it follows that existence is inseparable from Him, andhence that He really exists . ThusDescartes was led to inquire whether or not any basis for certainty couldbe established. It isinteresting that theologians such as Aquinas find it necessary to prove theexistence of God by using some form of logic. . Thus Descartes can safely say: "I think, therefore Iam." Nothing can destroy the truth of this assertion, which makes mind moreimportant than matter. Aquinas explains: "The second way is based on thenature of causation. One is therefore forced to suppose somefirst cause, to which everyone gives the name 'God'" (Aquinas, 1969, pp. Nowhere in the Bible canthis approach be found. After eliminatingeverything by doubt, Descartes noticed that nothing could take away thereality of his own thoughts. Deductive logic is only as adequate as the premisefrom which it operates. New York: New American Library. Such a series of causes must however stop somewhere. Descartes, however, was quite aware that down through thecenturies, all the impressions of sense had been doubted by skeptics. 7. Similarity of Descartes' second proof to that of Aquinas. Faith alwayscomes forth as the answer to questions of theology in the approach taken byAquinas.CONCLUSION Skepticism is the foundation of Descartes' philosophical views.Although it was previously stated in this essay that Aquinas relies onfaith in his approach to the reality of God and other theologicalconsiderations, the very fact that Aquinas attempts to prove God'sexistence indicates he is replying to skeptical reasoning. Brief statement on Rene Descartes' approach to philosophy. The age of belief: The medievalphilosophers. However, even this approach has itsdifficulties. 2. Thought is the one thing that exists, and Descarteshas no doubt that he is thinking. On the other hand, Aquinas did not examine the integrity of histhinking, but preferred to rely on faith as his only criterion for truth.Descartes used skepticism as his method of approaching reality. . and Stuart C. But once again Descartes is certain of onething beyond the power of the deceit of an evil demon--he knows for a factthat he is thinking. Descartes did not depend on religious faith as the solution to hisphilosophical problems. This brings Descartes closer toAquinas in his theological speculations. . However,in religious matters, skepticism is not a welcome companion, and Aquinasdid not encourage the relationship. 2. . 6. Descartes reformulated Anselm's ontological argument so that it isassumed that existence is a property or predicate. This is not evenphilosophy, but instead it is a form of apologetics for theological beliefsbased on deductive logic and divine revelation. 8. And so, Descartes could at least be certainof this condition: "I think, therefore I am." Thus that assertion becamethe first principle of the philosophy sought by Descartes. In "Meditation I" from Meditations onFirst Philosophy, Descartes, in this translation uses the term 'evilgenius' : "I shall then suppose, not that God who is supremely good and thefountain of truth, but some evil genius not less powerful than deceitful,has employed his whole energies in deceiving me . At least Descartes could be certain about thereality of his own thoughts; however, Aquinas did not really have completecertitude concerning God or any other theological concepts. The assumption of thereformulated argument is that to indicate the causal conditions of an eventis thereby to make that event intelligible. P., ed.). Aquinas used skepticism as a teaching toolleading to the doctrines of the Catholic faith. We see how after Descartes had doubted everything, he finally foundin his own thinking the basis of his entire philosophy. The first cause argument of Aquinas does not consider the possibilitythat there might be a series of endless regressions. avoid giving credence to any false thing, or being imposedupon by this arch deceiver, however powerful and deceptive he may be"(Descartes, 1969, pp. (1962). SummaTheologiae, Volume I. From the point of view of epistemology, Aquinas and Descartes sharethe concept that knowledge is innate and is discovered deductively. 3. 15 ). 41)Besides this passage, Descartes' "Meditation III" also contains a firstcause argument very much like what we find in Aquinas: "But if it derivesits existence from some other cause than itself, we shall again ask, forthe same reason, whether this second cause exists by itself or throughanother, until from one step to another, we finally arrive at an ultimatecause, which will be God." (Descartes, 1969, p. Yet some contemporaryThomists have reinterpreted the argument for the purpose of avoiding thisdifficulty. The following theistic argument used by Descartes was initiallydeveloped by Aquinas through Aristotle; and this is also a dialecticalproof of God known as the first cause and cosmological conception of God'sexistence. Freemantle, Anne, ed. . Discourse onmethod. One very glaring contrast, then, between Descartes and Aquinas isthat Descartes was very self-critical in his approach to knowledge andcertainty. In the observable world causes are found to beordered in series . 95-96). . Given therefore no stop in the series of causes, and hence no firstcause, there would be no intermediate causes either, and no last effect,and this would be an open mistake. . CONCLUSION Concluding comments on Aquinas and Descartes.INTRODUCTION This essay compares and analyzes Rene Descartes and Thomas Aquinaswith regard to their treatment of skepticism. Thus Anne Freemantle states: "Thismost central of all questions--did God make us or we Him?--worried St.Thomas not at all. Descartes, for the purpose of securing a solid base for hisphilosophy, resolved to doubt everything possible. 2 5). For instance, the argument still depends upon a view ofcausality which can be, and has been, questioned. It would seem, nevertheless, thatone's first impression of the two would be that they are quite dissimilar.But in both of these great thinkers there are common threads of thought. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274A.D.) and Rene Descartes (1596-165 A.D.) would seem to be coming fromdifferent philosophical and theological positions. 169-17 ). Descartes, Rene, (John Veitch, trans.). Descartes' and the certainty of his own thoughts.III. Besides being Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm was a member of theBenedictine Order. Unlike Descartes,however, Aquinas was definitely a scholastic, and he knew the 'truth' evenbefore he began to examine it. Wilson, ed.). However, althoughAquinas was a priest of the Dominican Order and probably the greatest ofthe scholastics, he and Descartes, a seventeenth-century rationalistphilosopher, do agree on some points. Aquinas and faith. 5. Consequently,for the purpose of proving the existence of God, Descartes used what mightbe considered as scholastic proofs. Descartes' method. (1967). Problemsand perspectives in the philosophy of religion. Aquinas arrived at five ways of proving the existence of God.First of all, there must be a Prime Mover; secondly, there must be acausation from a First Cause. However,Anselm's proof of God as used by Descartes is only shown as an introductionto Aquinas and his proof of God's existence. . Hackett, eds. Space limitations prohibit an examination of the remaining threeproofs of God formulated by Aquinas. (1954). The essentialDescartes. Descartes' Demon Arguments and how this differentiates Descartes from Aquinas. the necessity of the existence of Goddetermines me to think in this way." (Descartes, 1969, p. As is typical of theepistemological method used by Aquinas, the logic may be beautiful andelegant, but the premise may be in error. Aquinas and the first cause argument. Thus Aquinas never really was a skeptic inthe sense that Descartes was. 3.
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