How Does Descartes Explain Existence of Error?

...

have to be equal; or else, we would still make a mistake as “the natural light of reason that

the perception of the understanding should always precede the determination of the will”

(Descartes, 2003:49). In this part, Descartes focus is on a correct use of free choice. This

argument is very important to his proof that God is not responsible for our faults. Descartes

reasons that God gave a freedom of choice to a human, but God also gave the responsibility

to use it correctly. Error comes from human irresponsibility. It works because everything

what Descartes said before is nicely concluded with the fact that we get the ability to

choose. The freedom of choice is a distinct trait inevitably controlled just by us; hence, God

is not responsible for anything that results from it.

While accepting Descartes reasoning, I want to look into one of the objections to

these arguments. The one I most identify with is French philosopher’s Gassendi’s, who

stated that Descartes’

presented God seems to be omniscient, omnipotent and wholly good.

Knowing that God had knowledge and power to make things more perfect than he did, this

seems to show that God must have lacked the will to make people free of error and preferred

imperfection to perfection (Bennet, 2015:112). Descartes might say that we do not

4

understand God’s will and that we “have no right to complain that God chose to give a role

in the world that is not the principal and most perfect of all (Descartes, 2003:50)”. However,

I seem to agree with Gassendi’s argument. I have never seemed to notice that my mistakes

bring me happiness or wellness. I greatly suffered and wasted my friendships, money and

time just because of poor decisions I made. This makes me also consider whether God is

imperfect. However, if God is not perfect, then Descartes would also agree that God could

be a deceiver, and that the whole argument, that “Meditations” was built upon, would be

broken.

On the other hand, my past mistakes and my whereabouts today make me ponder

about them. I notice that I learn and acquire knowledge through my ability to err. Each time

I make a mistake, I am motivated to learn and never repeat it again. My new gain of

information helps to judge things more clearly, because I understand the issue more. This

empowers Descartes position on our faculty of judgment. Also, the fact that I am able to

acquire knowledge shows that though my intellect is limited, it can change. If I was created

with error, it would be a part of whom I am and inevitable static like, for example, my

ability to think. As I notice, no matter how much I try, I am unable to stop thinking, but I am

able to gain new understanding and avoid the error.

Not being perfect is the ability to gain knowledge. This favors Descartes’ position

over Gassendi’s, because there is goodness in human ability to err through unfixed faculty

of judgment. The fact that mistakes broaden our perspective shows that each time we gain

knowledge, we move towards perfection. This disputes the argument that God could be

imperfect, because we still don’t understand God’s actions. It doesn’t prove that God lacked

will to make us perfect. Overall, Descartes position remains strong.

5

Descartes offers a successful reply to why people make mistakes, because all the

arguments he gives are nicely connected and empowering to one other. His first argument,

the idea of nothingness and the possibility to accept it as true, reveals our faculty of

judgment, which consists of our limited understanding and infinite will. Furthermore,

Descartes emphasizes on our freedom of choice and how important it is to make decisions

with clear perception in order to avoid the error. This essay also presents an objection to

God’s will, which, if successful, could have undermined not just God’s perfection, but also

the entire book of “Meditations”. Descartes position remains strong, and his arguments seem

to be valid. Therefore, have a reason to agree with the fact that error doesn’t come from

God, and, that we are responsible for the mistakes we make.

1490 words

6

Biobliography:

Descartes, R. (2003). “Meditations and Other Metaphysical Writings”. London: Penguin

Books Ltd.

Bennet, J. (2015). “Objections to the Meditations and Descartes’s Replies”;