oubt-ridden, all sensory-based knowledge (as perceptions can be misleading), and all intellection. As a result, skepticism is removed and valid knowledge possible.Descartes primary purpose was the defense of human knowledge against the attacks of the skeptics. He was justified in excluding preconceived notions, presuppositions, and traditions in determining the limits of knowledge. Descartes discarded the ability of the mind to know truth and the human abilities of contradiction and sufficient reason. In doing so, he made a solution to the problem impossible.As it relates to his theory of the existence of God, Descartes universal doubt refutes his own conclusion as to God's existence. Descartes formed an idea of God as an infinitely good being. He would have had to discover this idea within his own mind. According to his principle of universal doubt, he cannot simply know whether his conception of God is correct or incorrect. He would have, as a matter of his own principle, considered it as false until proven otherwise. Therefore, since the idea of God is in doubt, the trustworthiness of man's reasoning must also be doubtful and Descartes cannot escape his own real doubt.Descartes uses a process of reasoning, a mathematical formulae, in attempting to demonstrate God's existence. If his reasoning is of demonstrably doubtful validity, how can Descartes demonstrate God's existence? The validity of Descartes reasoning is supposed to flow as a consequence of the infinite perfection of God; and God's infinite perfect is made certain through Descartes' reasoning powers before he has even proven that these reasoning powers are valid and trustworthy. Descartes assumes the very thing beforehand which he intends to prove afterwards. (Begging the question).Descartes accepts the trustworthiness of his faculties in demonstrating the existence and infinite perfection of God, and that is illegitimate. A doubtfully valid faculty will produc...
