Rene Descartes is one of the brightest representatives of the French philosophy and science, whose reasoning had a great influence on the further intellectual development of Europe. In his most essential writing Discourse on the Method he raised a set of the fundamental problems, which were crucial for that epoch. The character of Descartes’s narration in this work is the development from the evident things to the striking consequences. The illustration of this idea is Descartes’s conclusion about the existence of the highest essence. The tool to proof this statement is the strong reasoning. The paper discusses the unexpected turnings in the Descartes’s work and the techniques the author uses to achieve his objectives.
At the very beginning, Descartes states the necessity of the existence of the self due to the process of thinking. The ability to have doubts about other things in the world witnesses that I exist. From this idea, Descartes concludes about the existence of God. The idea of God in human’s consciousness is the result of the activity of God, who is the perfect essence. Such inference seems to be surprising and groundless. According to Mascarenhas, “many things that Descartes stated in the wrong place: begin with existence of one’s own mind alone and no argument can possibly advance an inch farther”. It is not obvious for the modern individual to turn from self-existence to the existence of God. However, Descartes is consistent in his views making the reader not only believe him but follow the thoughts. He comes to this conclusion stressing the imperfection of the human being, who has doubts about the world. He knows that he exists. Thus, there is somebody who is the source of this idea. By reason of the fact that God is perfect and all-knowing, we have the right understanding of the world.
The author is convincing in persuading the readers. His narration seems to be clear and justified. However, the critical reader may see the variant of the ontological argument of God’s existence in Descartes's thoughts. Thus, the thorough analysis of the author’s ideas may lead to their rejection. At the same time, if not to take into consideration the philosophical context, Descartes’s narration is an example of a brilliant demonstration. Although the “surprise ending” is striking, it seems to be logical and, thus, it is easy to accept it. It is also so because the author as the narrator is a kind of “philosophical everyman”. Thus, he is convincing because every person can understand it.
Thus, the surprise ending of the development of Descartes’s thought is the discovery of the intellectual sources, which are in the idea of God. The reader travels the path together with the author, who experiences the inspiration thinking about the grand essence, who is God.
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