Aquinas and Descartes View of Knowledge - 1433 Words

Knowledge Aquinas and Descartes have different ideas on how humans gain knowledge in the world. Both philosophers need to define what the human body is composed of in order to determine how we gain knowledge. For Aquinas intellect comes from the soul and the body working in unison. The soul is the substantial form of a living material thing. It is the actuality of a living material substance. Even though the rational soul is what differentiates humans from other living things, it does not make us human beings. Aquinas writes that we could maintain this if we were to suppose that the activities of sensory souls are proper to such souls apart from bodies. (Aquinas 62) Aquinas is saying that we would be able to say that the human†¦show more content†¦Objective reality is the reality of ideas or thoughts, while formal reality is the cause of our ideas or thoughts. For example I see desk in our classroom. There could be a powerful being giving us the idea of desks, senses actually taking in desks, or I expect desks to be there so I create the idea of desks. When Descartes considers the example of God, he uses the same experiment to explain how we come to the idea of God or an all powerful being. I am not perfect, and I have never sensed or experienced perfection. Can the all powerful demon be giving me this image of perfection? No, because to deceive is an imperfection. The only possible explanation for the cause of our reason of perfection is God. From these considerations it is quite obvious that he cannot be a deceiver, for it is manifest by the light of nature that all fraud and deception depend on some defect. ( Descartes 80) Also Descartes goes on to say that it is more perfect to exist than not to exist. Therefore if the definition of God is perfect, then God must exist. Descartes says that we understand and learn through two things that God gives us. In order to make perfect decisions or the right conclusions we must be clear and distinct in what we decide. Clear refers to something that I cannot help but to take notice of, and distinct is something IShow MoreRelatedThe Existence Of Saint Thomas Aquinas And Ren?ï ¿ ½ Descartes1460 Words   |  6 Pagesphilosophers have attempted to prove God’s existence: Saint Thomas Aquinas and Renà © Descartes. Despite having been influenced by the former, Descartes’ arguments––while similar to Aquinas’––are reached through noticeably different methods. To analyze Aquinas’ proof for God’s existence, it is important to first analyze his definition of God––or â€Å"How We Know God†Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ¢â‚¬â€œ as outlined in the Summa of Theology (Qu. 12). 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