Descartes Quest for Truth and Certainty - Essay Example

Thus, he began to doubt his beliefs on sense perception, material objects, and physical sciences, for these, all depend on our senses, which are by nature, deceptive. Furthermore, he doubted mathematics, for the reason that there perhaps may be an evil deceiver that deceives him to fall into error. Herein, Descartes uses this evil deceiver in attaining his permanent truth. I quote: “Even though there may be a deceiver of some sort… who bends all his efforts to keep me perpetually deceived, there can be no slightest doubt that I exist, since he deceives me; and let him deceive me as much as he will, he can never make me be nothing as long as I think that I am something” (Descartes 82). This is Descartes's absolute and certain truth. For, inasmuch as he would doubt all the beliefs he has ever had, there is one thing, which he cannot doubt, i.e. that he exists. For to claim that he cannot tell the difference between a dream and reality, or to claim that an evil deceiver deceives him to fall into error, is not possible without his existence. In order for doubting to take place, a doubter must exist. In order for Descartes to be deceived to fall into error, he must exist. Therefore, Descartes arrives at his foundational truth: “I exist.”