Modern Western Philosophy Descartes- Metaphysics for NET, IAS, State-SET (KSET, WBSET, MPSET, etc.), GATE, CUET, Olympiads etc.
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Complete Video at - Modern Western Descartes - Metaphysics: Concept of Innate Ideas (Philosophy)
The Concept of Innate Ideas
- According to Descartes, no amount of sense experience can give us universal knowledge for necessity the sense-experience is particular.
- As such the universal principle is supplied by the mind to the sense-data.
- The doctrine of innate ideas means that the mind is not totally receptive but it is also active in nature.
- It supplies the active formative principles of knowledge.
- Descartes mentions the dual role of Innate Ideas.
- Since the essence of mind is consciousness or thought so there are certain ideas which belong to mind alone.
- Specially, the inmate ideas.
- Innate ideas are characterised by clearness and distinctness.
- In this sense, innate ideas mean pure thoughts and abstract thoughts.
- According to Descartes, the best idea of an innate idea is the idea of God. According to him, God is infinite, perfect, endowed with all positive qualities.
- However, Descartes was also obliged to extend the innate to the sense ideas as well.
- First, he could not find their place in the mental series as they seemed to be cause by something external to the mind.
- He explains the sense experience of colour, taste, etc. is not in the objects, therefore, it belongs to the psychical existence.
- He avers, the external stimulus serves the function of exiting the sense-organs and through the pineal gland, the soul forms sense-experience.
- Since the essence of mind is consciousness or thought so there are certain ideas which belong to mind alone.
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The Role of God
- According to Descartes, there is one clear and distinct innate idea present in all of us, that is the innate idea of God.
- Descartes avers, there is one innate idea of a being who is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, source of all goodness and truth, creator of all things.
- In short, it has in itself all the things which are tainted by no imperfections.
- Now, Descartes avers that what can be the cause of this idea? He says, the cause must be equal to the effect.
- So, human beings cannot be the cause of this idea for we are finite beings and limited by nature.
- Hence, this idea must have been caused by an equally perfect cause, the infinitely perfect being, that he calls, God.
- According to Descartes, God is that on which everything else depends, but in return, God is not dependent on anything.
- He avers, God is the independent substance on which both, mind and matter depend.
- In other words, the two relative substances, mind and body depend on God.
Proofs for the Existence of God
- Descartes gives three proofs for the existence of God. They are;
- The Causal Proof:
- The causal proof in-order to explain the existence go God is based on two main assumptions.
- individual consciousness or the mind knows itself to be finite in nature,
- This conception of God is derived only from the conception of an absolutely perfect being, God.
- The Cosmological Proof:
- Descartes avers that what can be the cause of myself, my parents and all the other finite, limited beings?
- This he concludes, can be proved only with the help of the idea of a perfect, infinite being who has created everything, including the finite beings in the world.
- The Ontological Proof:
- Saint Anselm is most famous for he advocated ontological argument for the existence of God.
- In Proslogion, he advances ontological argument towards the existence of God.
- It is called ontological for it shows the very essence of the Idea of the perfect God which implies His existence.
- In other words, the non-existence of God cannot be entertained, for God՚s essence implies His existence or that He exists.
- Descartes was influenced by Anslem՚s ontological proof.
- He avers, the existence of God follows from the very idea of the perfect being.
- He gives an analogy to prove his point, he says, “the very idea of the equality of three angles of a triangle is equal to the two right angles, follows from the very idea of a triangle.”
- Hence, he says, the most perfect being cannot be thought without, at the same time, thinking of Him as actually existing.
- The Causal Proof:
MCQ
Q-1 Descartes ________ the theory of innate ideas
Options:
A. Accepts
B. Rejects
C. Sometimes A and sometimes B
D. Is sceptic of
Answer: A
Q- 2. Innate Ideas are characterised by
Options:
A. Cleaness and Distinctiveness
B. Clearness and Distinctiveness
C. Clearness and Distinctness.
D. None of these
Answer: C
3. Select the correct statement in relation to God, according to Descartes
Options:
A. God is the architect God.
B. God is the creator God
C. God is a dependent absolute substance
D. Mind and body are independent on God
Answer: B
4. Descartes gives ________ proofs for the existence of God
Options:
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. None
Answer: B
5. Descartes ________ Ontological proof for the existence of God
Options:
A. Accepts.
B. Rejects
C. Modified.
D. None of these
Answer: A
- We learnt about:
#God
#Proofs
#Innate
#Ideas
✍ Manishika