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bes the thing. In the second sense, thinking is created when one thinks of the actual thing itself. Thus, from the perspective of the first sense it can be true that God does not exist. From the second sense, the denial of the existence of God is impossible because the thing itself has been thought or conceived.
　　Since Descartes’ “Fifth Mediation” was written many years after Anselm’s “Ontological Argument” it becomes apparent, at least in one sense that Descartes refers indirectly to arguments established in Anselm’s “Ontological Argument.” This relationship or connection can be seen in both arguments as the idea of God’s “perfect existence.” Descartes however, in my opinion delves into the concept of perfect existence candidly. Whereas Anselm, attributes this perfect existence in his statement “we believe you to be something greater than which nothing grater can be conceived.” Regardless of the methods used they both attribute perfection to this supreme, eternal Being.
　　Additionally, Descartes argument regarding the existence of God is not presupposed by faith like Anselm’s. Rather, Descartes begins his argument in a different manner then Anselm, speaking nothing about prior faith in God’s existence. He begins the “Fifth Meditation” by explaining how he has the ability to conceive in his mind a vast array of different shapes and dimensions. Even if these figments which he has created within his mind do not actual exist outside of his mind, they still contain immutable and
　　eternal properties. A triangle is used by Descartes to elaborate upon this issue. He argues that even if the triangle did not exist outside of his mind it still contains indisputable properties. Therefore, once these properties are conceived clearly and distinctly they must be completely true.
　　Like the triangle, the idea of a supremely perfect being exists in both our mind and Descartes. This idea does not differ from that of the triangle in any sense because each contains a nature or property. Descartes clearly and distinctly observes that Gods existence belongs to his nature, like a figure or number whose nature belongs to that figure or number.
　　Descartes agrees that God can be thought of as not existing. This means, one can segregate his existence from his essential properties. Furthermore, this ability to separate existence and essence is also present within all other things examined according to Descartes. However, with closer inspection and with greater attention given to this notion Descartes discovered that, “we can no more separate the existence of God from his essence than we can separate from the essence of a rectilinear triangle the fact that the size of its three angles equals two right angles” (Baird 430). In other words, with other things we can separate the existence from the properties because the other things are not of a perfect being like God.
　　Both Anselm and Descartes both use the premise of God as not existing, to prove his existence. They formulate their argument in this way because with closer inspection they refute the thought of God not existing because God has a perfect existence, and to claim that a perfect Being does not exist in reality would be “self contradictory”
　　(Baird 430). Thus, according to Anselm and Descartes, a perfect Being must exist in both the mind and in reality since its existence is eternal, immutable, and perfect.
　　In addition, Descartes maintains tha本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。