Microsoft Word - Paper.docx
The paper should be approximately 4 pages double-spaced (no longer than
1400 words).
Topic
In the third Meditation, Descartes gives an argument for God's existence (pp. 28-32 in Cottingham's translation). (1) Present in some detail all the main steps of Descartes' argument (its key premises and its conclusion). (2) Give your assessment of the argument: do you think it is a successful argument? If you think it is not successful, which premises do you think are questionable? If you think it is successful, which are its strong points? Do you think it is a valid argument? (3) Explain the role of Descartes' demonstration of God's existence in the project of his Meditations. (4) Descartes was criticized because the God he speaks about in the Meditations is "the God of the philosophers" and not the God of the believers. What do you think of this criticism? And do you think that God has any place in philosophy? If yes, why? If no, why?
NB: You can answer each of those 4 questions separately or you may decide to write your paper as just one essay, as long as you make it sure that you address all those 4 questions.