The Two Truths that Descartes Discovers in His Meditations on First Philosophy that Do Not Require the Divine Guarantee
European Journal of Social Sciences January 1, 2022 Stanley Tweyman
Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy argues that certain knowledge requires a non-deceiving God as guarantor. This paper identifies two truths in the Meditations that do not depend on that divine guarantee, contradicting Descartes' own assertion in the third meditation that certainty about anything is impossible without knowing God exists and is not a deceiver. The analysis shows that these truths are self-validating or grounded in immediate awareness, challenging the scope of Descartes' epistemological project.