God, Human Memory, and the Certainty of Geometry: An Argument Against Descartes

Philosophy and Theology 28 (2):299–310 (2016)
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Abstract

Descartes holds that the tell-tale sign of a solid proof is that its entailments appear clearly and distinctly. Yet, since there is a limit to what a subject can consciously fathom at any given moment, a mnemonic shortcoming threatens to render complex geometrical reasoning impossible. Thus, what enables us to recall earlier proofs, according to Descartes, is God’s benevolence: He is too good to pull a deceptive switch on us. Accordingly, Descartes concludes that geometry and belief in God must go hand in hand. However, I argue that, while theism adds a layer of psychological reassurance, the mind-independent reality of God would ensure the preservation of past demonstrations for atheists as well.

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Marc Champagne
Kwantlen Polytechnic University

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Epistemic feelings.Ronald da Sousa - 2009 - Mind and Matter 7 (2):139-161.
Descartes’s Theory of Mind.Desmond M. Clarke - 2003 - Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press.

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