Critically Assess the Claim that the Idea of God is Innate

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Critically Assess the Claim that the Idea of God is Innate

The claim that the idea of God is innate is the idea that we are born knowing about God a priori. To claim that we are born with the idea of God, doesn’t necessarily need to mean that from birth, we are always aware of God’s existence, but rather it lies dormant within our mind, ready to be triggered by some form of stimuli. Hence, although we have discovered the concept of God through our parents or spiritual leaders, it is not the origin of the idea; rather it is the activation of the idea. Father of modern philosophy, Rene Descartes was a very influential person in trying to formally prove that the idea of God is innate. One of the main arguments he uses to do this, is his ‘Trademark Argument.

The ultimate purpose of the Trademark Argument put forward by Descartes is to attempt to show that he can only have the idea of God in his mind, if there was originally a God to put that idea in his mind. For example, in the same way how the trademark on a piece of clothing tells us the maker; Descartes states that the idea of God within his mind reveals its maker, God. To show this, he argues that the idea of an infinite being such as God cannot be produced from within the mind of a finite being like himself, or any other being. The cause of the idea of infiniteness can only be from a being that is infinite itself, which is God.

However, there are problems with Descartes Trademark Argument. If Descartes claims that the idea of God is innate, then surely everyone must be born with the same idea of God.         Yet this is not the case, as different religions view God in different ways. Although Descartes manages to put across his view about innateness through the trademark argument rather well, the claim that ‘the idea of God is innate’ would only be great if religion wasn't so differing in nature, and unified as one. We could easily have created our image of God by amplifying our own finite human qualities.

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From the Trademark Argument Descartes moves on from knowledge of his idea of God in his mind, to the cause of that idea outside of his mind. This cause must be God, and so God must exist. The essential structure of the argument is as follows; the cause of anything must at least be as perfect as its effect. My ideas must be caused by something. I am imperfect being. I have the idea of God which is that of a perfect being. I cannot be the cause of my idea of God. Only a perfect being (i.e. God) can ...

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