Descartes and the Existence of Evil Demon - Essay Example

Central to his argument is the fact that his knowledge of God is anchored on a distinct idea on the existence of a supreme being (Marion, 2008). As such, there must be the existence of an idea first before a given claim of body of knowledge is verified. For Descartes, this distinct idea resided in his mind. It is this idea that gave him the essence of God as a supreme being. It is an idea that could not be verified through empirical methods. The existence of an Evil Demon, in line with the thinking of Descartes, can only obtain if it is backed by a distinct idea.

  There must first exist the essence of the Evil Demon that is developed into Descartes mind in order for him to make a claim about the existence of such a being. One of the central arguments upheld by Descartes is that essence relates to existence. It would follow logically that the absence of essence effectively eliminates all possibilities of existence. Without the essence of the Evil Demon in distinct form it would be vacuous to assert any claim of such an existence. Therefore, this would mean that Descartes could claim the existence of God but not make any assertions on whether or not some Evil Demon actually exists (Marion, 2008).

Proof of such existence could be derived from other serious arguments, or by employing some logical claims outside the boundaries established by Descartes methods.  Descartes knowledge of God was based on the theory of ideas which people can relate with. He believed that it is possible for things to exist without their very nature of existence being confirmed by any evidence. He did not consider it necessary to seek out for measure of quantifiable evidence that would offer evidence for the existence of God.

According to him, the mind can generate knowledge of its own through the power of intuition. The practice of intuition basically demands changing the mind to the essence of ideas without establishing the evidence of experience or