EURO ST 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Pythagorean Theorem, Firm Foundation, First Principle
Document Summary
Descartes turned to rationalism as the starting point for philosophy to guarantee certainty. Developed the ontological proof of the existence of god, beginning with nothing but the analysis of concepts ( clear and perspicuous ideas ), like that of. One thing can"t be doubted: that i am doubting, thinking. First principle: i think, therefore i am . As a thinking being, i can reflect on my thoughts. I find the thought of a most perfect-being . That being (god) must exist - by definition (like the pythagorean theorem by the definition of a right triangle) Thanks to that being, i can now trust my thoughts about the world (i might be mistaken in any particular case, but god would not be an evil genius who deceives me) Many philosophers debate until this day on the validity of the proof. Anyone, using reason, must share this conclusion!
