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Can Descartes clearly and distincly perceive God?

I've been going round and round the book and it's just a mass of confusion to me. So my question is, in terms of ultimately proving the outside world, would it be fair to say that on finding the Cogito, Descartes asks what else he can clearly and distinctly perceive, and arrives at the conclusion of a necessarily benevolent God? And then does that lead into the trademark and ontological argument showing that God exists....then you just say that senses aren't subject to his will so the 'material' world comes from outwith him, either from God, the evil genius, or the outside world, but there is no evil genius because God is no deceiver etc, and he's naturally inclined to believe the perceptions come from outwith him, and becuase God is no deceiver, he wouldn't deceive him into having that natural inclination, so the outside world exists?

Sorry for being long winded, i'm just a bit confuzzled. cheers
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Avatar for Aesop
Aesop
11
I read it like this (take the cogito for granted):

1. Idea of God as infinite etc etc (incorporates perfection) is known to Descartes clearly and distinctly.
2. Trademark argument (causal adequacy principle) for God's existence; God must be the 'cause' of this idea.
3. Descartes maxim: God is no deciever; decieving is inconsistent with perfection.
4. The imagination leads Descartes to consider the material world as a hypothesis. This seems to be because he considers the fact that our difficulty in imagining certain things (Med6 I think) indicates they are dependent on something other than himself.
5. This thing cannot be Descartes, for the above reason, and that he cannot will sensations. It cannot be God or another higher being, because Descartes has no faculty for thinking it would be, and thus God would be decieving him if it were so (3). Therefore, material things exist.

Perhaps in addition, you may want to look at 4-5 as being in line with the causal adequacy principle. The cause of the idea (provided by 4) must contian formally/eminently the effect; so God, Descartes or Material things. Though I don't think Descartes expresses it explicitly, it's implied.

So you're right, Descartes original idea of God as perfect etc. is percieved [by Descartes] as clear and distinct (and most likely innate). Hope that clarifies a little.

(I may be incorrect, I read it awhile ago)
No he can't - he's dead.

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