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The trademark argument is an a priori argument for the existence of God developed by French philosopher and mathematician, René Descartes. The argument, though similar to the ontological argument, differs in some respects, since it seeks to prove the existence of God through the causal adequacy principle (CAP) as opposed to analysing the definition of the word God.
Contents
- Analysis
- The trademark argument could also be constructed as such
- Criticisms of the trademark argument
- References
[S]ince I am a thinking thing, and have in me an idea of God, whatever finally the cause may be to which my nature is attributed, it must necessarily be admitted that the cause must equally be a thinking thing, and possess within it the idea of all the perfections that I attribute to the divine nature.
Analysis
The trademark argument can be analyzed (or rationally reconstructed) as follows:
1. I have an idea of God.
2. Everything which exists has a cause.
3. Therefore, there is a cause of my idea of God.
3. There is a cause of my idea of God.
4. The cause of an effect must contain at least as much reality as the effect.
5. Therefore, the cause of my idea of God must contain at least as much reality as my idea of God.
5. The cause of my idea of God must contain at least as much reality as my idea of God.
6. The idea of God contains perfection.
7. Therefore, the cause of my idea of God must contain perfection.
7. The cause of my idea of God must contain perfection.
8. No being which is not God contains perfection.
9. God is the cause of my idea.
9. The cause of my idea of God is God.
10. If something is the cause of something else, that something exists.
11. Therefore, God exists.
The trademark argument could also be constructed as such
P1. We have ideas of many things
P2. These ideas must arise either from ourselves or from things outside of us.
P3. One of these ideas is the idea of God (a necessary, perfect being)
P4. This idea could not have been caused by ourselves, because we know ourselves to be limited and imperfect, and no effect is greater than its cause.
P5. Therefore the idea must have been caused by something outside of us that has nothing less than the qualities contained in the idea of God.
P6. But only God has these properties.
P7. Therefore God must be the cause of the idea we have of him.
C. Therefore God exists
This version of the argument evades much of the criticisms one normally sees against the first version of trademark argument, because to reject premise 2 is to reject a priori justification altogether. It is stating that we can know a priori truths even though we are imperfect, which is fine, because we can understand many things about reality through conceptual analysis.