Descartes second consideration on the existence of God relies on his belief of the certainty of clear and distinct perceptions. In the meditations prior to meditation five Descartes emphasized the truth evoked by everything which is clearly and distinctly perceived. Descartes is able to theorize that whatever he perceives clearly and distinctly must be true. Descartes will employ this principle in attempt to prove the existence of God. While Descartes theory of truth inferred from clear and distinct perceptions holds strong, his attempt to use this to establish the existence of God is inadequate. Although Descartes is able to perceive God clearly and distinctly, this perception of God is different from the fact of his existence in reality.
             Before getting into Descartes' proof for the existence of God I will succinctly define what Descartes qualifies as a clear and distinct perception. For a perception to be considered clear the mind must be able to readily conceive it (Principles of Philosophy). One could liken this to seeing something clearly in a line of vision. For a perception to be considered distinct it must be independent (Principles of Philosophy). A distinct perception lacks ambiguity. A perception is first classified as clear if no evidence within itself renders it false. After its clarity is recognized, a perception is classified as distinct if nothing outside itself can disprove its truth (Principles of Philosophy). Such explanation of clear and distinct allows Descartes to theorize that all clear and distinct perceptions are an "absolute certainty". I will demonstrate that this theory does not fail Descartes throughout meditations.
             I will now go into detail of how Descartes attempts to prove his second argument for the existence of God. Descartes begins meditation five by reiterating the principle he established in meditation three. He says that if it is true that he is able to clearly and distinctly...