Did Descartes use reductio ad absurdum?
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I don't think so, it was Gaunilo that pointed out the reducio ad absurdum in St Anselm's argument for the assumption that the greatest of anything entails existence because of its perfection using his example of the perfect island. Descartes argument was more rational and he used much more reason (being a rationalist) than Anselm (who valued both faith and reason but emphasised the dominance of faith).
Alvin Plantinga supported Descartes with his theory of possible worlds and god as a being of maximal excellence.
Charles Hartshorne agreed with criticisers of both ontological arguments that existence is not usually a predicate of perfection, but given the God of classical theism's necessary existence, it is correct in this case.
Gareth Moore also compares gods existence to the equator - the fact that it can not be seen but there is faith in its existence.
I don't have a lot on Descartes, sorry, I tended to focus on Anselms argument and might not be too much help, I did my exam a couple of weeks ago and it has slipped my mind. Good luck!
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