Descartes and God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Descartes and God - Essay Example Relying on the principle of clarity and distinctness, he argued that there were two things he could be sure about: the existence of himself and God. Being a devout Catholic, he wanted to make a contribution to understanding of Christianity. So in the opening statement to Meditations, Descartes claimed that there were two driving issues behind this work: proving the existence of God and the immortality of the soul through natural reason (Burnham and Fieser 2006). In fact, the necessary existence of God was the absolute truth for Descartes, perceived by him at the intuition level. Yet, he realized that it was necessary to provide clear logical arguments of this existence. Descartes provided three principal arguments of the existence of God: the causal, cosmological and ontological ones. The causal argument is most fully represented in Meditation III, it can also be found in the Discourse (Part I) and in the Principles (Part I  §Ã‚ § 17-18). Descartes distinguishes between the formal reality of an idea (its actual existence and degree of perfection as a mode of mind) and its objective reality (the degree of perfection it has with consideration of its content). Further the philosopher recognizes three degrees of perfection based on the capacity of a thing for an independent existence. God, being an infinite substance depending on nothing, is viewed as the highest degree of perfection. An individual body or mind (finite substances depending on God alone) is given the next degree. A property of a substance, that is a mode depending on the substance for existence, is considered as being of the lowest degree. Descartes states that â€Å"it is manifest by the natural light that there must be at least as much reality in the efficient and total cause as in the effect of that cause†. Thus there should be as much formal reality in the cause of an idea as there is objective reality in the

Women in the Struggle for Americas Independence Essay - 1

Women in the Struggle for Americas Independence - Essay Example Patriot women also engaged in their traditional weaving to make clothes for local consumption. Reduced market on imported products did not only interfere with local economic development but also forced local community to appreciate traditional values. Although women were not allowed to actively participate in the country’s economy, Africa America and housewives utilized their purchasing power to support patriot women by cause through refusing to purchase British manufactured products. Refusal to purchase and consume British manufactured products was used to communicate a very critical political message to the British government. In addition, to demonstrate their concern in the United States of America affairs, American women formed the first women political Movement Edenton Tea Party. The formation of this movement resulted in the signing by 51 women an agreement to officially boycott tea and other products that were produced in Britain. Even though, it was an America policy to use local products at the expense of international produced products; it was America women who enacted the initiative in their household. In 1778, a good number of women confronted a merchant who was holding and selling British coffee and confiscated the coffee.  Although women role in the war was concentrated in family economic, the revolution witnessed women participation in broader economic perspectives.  Ã‚   Women actively participated in the lively revolution by being recruited in legislative bodies and in the military.