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Samantha Kern

Dr. Eyers

UCOR 132-18

15 October 2019

There is an “I” in Existence for a Reason

Throughout Descartes’ different meditations he tries to prove three main points by

repeatedly proving then disproving them. The first topic he tries to argue is the existence of the

self or the ‘I’. His philosophical ways are very unusual when compared to other philosophers,

but his actions have a direct purpose. Out of his three points the self is evaluated first because in

order for the rest of his arguments to be valid the self has to survive his harsh skepticism. It is

crucial that the self can be proven and defined because the self is a unit of identity that makes

people different from each other. The thinking thing is how we exist, so it is necessary for

Descartes to explain it with certainty. Many scenarios are given that will make it almost

impossible to question whether or not the ‘I’ exists. Even though his beliefs were stated several

years ago, they still apply to the world today and can help people understand why things happen

or exist, like us. In the essay I will argue how Descartes’ persuasive methods of the thinking

thing strongly prove itself as a real entity.

Before the thinking thing can be stated with certainty, it must first go through several

tests falsifying any questions that come about. The existence of God also influences most of the

tests that each idea is put through. In the beginning the self is automatically denied existence by

Descartes saying that we are all dreaming. Quickly retracing his steps, Descartes then goes on to

explain that in order for us to see things in our dreams we must have seen them somewhere else,

like in the real world. I think this is a strong point because we may have weird dreams that would
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never happen in real life, but the characters remain the same. We control the actions of our

dreams and manipulate them, so they may be more unrealistic. Whether or not they are

unrealistic, the people and things are just like they are in real life or at least some version close to

it. Descartes continues to prove this point by adding more qualifications and saying that God

creates these images for us. Now in his multiple mediations God is proven several times to be

perfect and not a deceiver, so it makes sense that these images portrayed to us are real. Some

may be skeptical to God’s perfection, but why would a creator want to deceive his creations. I

believe a God should be proud of what he made and want what’s best for us. He can’t influence

how we act to each other or how we react to things, but he can control that the images we see are

the truth. Descartes knows the truth is valued by many because people want to know what is real

from the start instead of being betrayed and finding out the real story later. In my mind it makes

sense that God will provide the truth because many look up to this all powerful being for a

reason, if he lied then nobody would follow him. In order for God to remain the perfect all

powerful being he is, he must continue to supply the truthful images we see every day.

Since Descartes likes to contradict himself, he keeps tumbling the idea of the images we

see because some people deny the existence of God. He then comes to the conclusion with his

beliefs, “it would be much more reasonable to believe them than to deny them.” (Descartes 21).

People come up with things in their heads constantly and this is where the “things happen for a

reason” quote comes into play. I believe if we think something there is a specific reason, and

these thoughts shouldn’t be shoved away in fear of being faulty. It’s a lot easier for Descartes to

believe that God is the reason behind what we see with certainty than to try and come up with

other explanations. If we were to explain something that still doesn’t have clear evidence, then

we would take our best guess and go with it. We wouldn’t deny our thoughts since we aren’t
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experts on the subject because nobody is. So, why would Descartes ignore his thoughts to the

creation of ourselves when there is nobody who can fully give us a real answer? I think it is

easier to try and rationalize confusing topics then just dismiss them. In order for Descartes to

explain the rest of his meditations, the existence of the self must provide a strong foundation. So,

he must remain confident with the certainty in his notions and believe in them so that others will

too. I believe confidence is a key characteristic in Descartes’ propositions because people are

more likely to listen to somebody who is assured in his thoughts rather than one who denies

them.

Once he gets past the existence of the self as a whole, he begins to dive into the existence

of the “thinking thing”. By stating everything is false he goes on to prove the certainty of the

thinking thing. He qualifies his statement with the thought, “if I convinced myself of something.

There is some unidentified deceiver, however, all powerful and cunning, who is dedicated to

deceiving me constantly” (Descartes 24). In order for him to exist and be deceived, there must

actually be somebody present to mislead. Now, with his current perception the ‘I’ only has one

thing, a thinking mind, but that is all it takes to prove it exists. Questioning the fact that he exists

is actually proving his existence because the ‘I’ is now supported with the fact that it can think.

This is a strong point because if we start to think “why do we exist?”, we come up with several

solutions that all lead back to the same thing, our existence. I believe that if we didn’t exist, we

wouldn’t question why we were put here. Instead we state that we were put on this planet for a

sole purpose and our lives are filled with us trying to fulfill this motive. When we become

frustrated with our reason for existing, we question our creator, “why me?”. The questioning of

our purpose therefore questions our existence proving that we are a living and thinking being.

The ability to form thoughts is what defines the ‘I’ and makes it different from other things. Our
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thoughts can be formed by hearing or seeing other things. Since the self has been proven already,

the physical world is a dependable source for the things we see and hear. Some ideas however go

beyond what we see, and we begin making thoughts about them. He stumbles with the idea that

there are thoughts created in his mind that are true and those that are false. It is then explained

that if you are the one thinking the thoughts then they have to be true. I think that if we wouldn’t

want to be deceived by God, we wouldn’t deceive ourselves either. Stating that every thought we

have is true, then the thought of the existence of the “I” must also be a true thought.

The mind plays a major role in the way the outer world interacts with us. The way we

feel or perceive things requires a mind to do it. So, the “I” must be real in order for interactions

to occur. These exchanges aren’t false because some of them occur even if we don’t want them

too. You see a fire, but you don’t touch it because you know if you do you will feel pain. You

don’t physically tell yourself that you are in pain because of the heat, it just happens. So, in this

argument the thinking part of the thinking thing can be proved when the senses come into play.

Senses may interact with the mind, but they are two completely different things. I believe senses

would have no purpose if it wasn’t for the mind receiving the effects of their actions. Therefore,

in each individual a mind must be present, and with the mind comes all of the countless thoughts

of existence showing how the “I” is real.

Focusing in on the mind of the thinking thing we are approached with features like

intellect and judgement. These are crucial characteristics to the mind because they allow it to be

free. The mind has the ability to choose what it thinks and create an opinion about it. We are

given these faculties from God separately. The questionable part that comes about is that when

these two are combined they create false ideas that are not perfect. Errors are created “since the

will extends further than the understanding” (Descartes 48). God is a creator not a deceiver, but
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he gives us these qualities that allow us to be flawed. I think being flawed is a big part for

allowing the thinking thing to be real. If everyone and everything was so perfect, then it would

be too unreal and belong only in our imagination. Having unique flaws makes everyone different

from each other, so God gave us these faculties on purpose to have everyone created be a distinct

being. I believe God allows us to judge what he created so we can create our own ideas about our

surrounding world. Again, if we think a thought, then it is true, but when we begin judging that is

where our individuality comes in. The thinking thing not only exists, but also is different from

the other being right next to it. Our differences are what helps us come into existence.

Some of the ideas we form aren’t real at all, they are just assumptions made off of a

single encounter. Some may now question Descartes ideas because all thoughts that come from

one’s mind should be true. However, in a way these false thoughts are true. Yes, you may think

an invalid thought, but you can’t deny that you still thought it. I believe than an idea can be

formed wrong, but there was still an original thought that had to be created, so that it could be

transformed into its own idea created by you. This also relates back to the idea of denial, if you

try denying a false thought like a lie, you are proven the thought’s existence by disproving it.

The same goes for our existence, if we try to find all of the facts to challenge that it’s real then

we are validating its existence. I think something must be real if it wants to be challenged,

otherwise there would be no point to question it in the first place. So, although thoughts may

seem false, the ability to form these ideas is what qualifies us with certainty to be thinking

things.

All in all, every one of Descartes’ meditations are important, but the evidence for the

certainty of the self is the most crucial one. Without it the world we have today would not be a

reality. God plays a valuable role in the arguments for existence, but for those who skepticize
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God can simply replace him with another all-powerful being. Our ability to form thoughts that

deny we exist is proving our existence. Every concept we perceive is done for a reason, and all of

these ideas lead up to why we are here. Our individual thoughts are what make us unique, and

although they are all different, we still create them so they must be true. As beings we don’t like

to be lied to or deceived, so it only makes sense that the thoughts we create are truthful. Seeing is

believing, we see things and know they are true because we aren’t being misguided. So, if we see

ourselves in a dream, we know that the image created of how we appear is true. Without us

nothing else would exist making it hard to deny that the “I” is a concrete being. In his various

meditations Descartes provides substantial evidence that clearly and strongly states that the

existence of the thinking thing is real.

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Works Cited

Descartes, R. (2003) Meditations and Other Metaphysical Writings. London, England: Penguin

Books.