Intuition, Descartes claims, is certitude that does not require deduction; however, deduction or the reasoning process always requires intuition as first principle. Primary intuition is a given by the presence of consciousness. No one not in a coma can deny consciousness or the intuitive sense of self. That Descartes said, “I think therefore I am” is not entirely correct; what he should have said was that he intuits his existence in virtue of his sense of identity and does not entail thinking about it. In other words, the conclusiveness of the thought process is already in the first premise of human consciousness, not the other way around.

The concept of God is not intuitive or as certain as human consciousness. It requires a thought process received from impressions garnered from induction. One cannot logically conclude that I think therefore God is within me without a long chain of reasoning predicated on the power and awe of nature. Most primitives saw God outside of themselves — in the azure or clouds, in fire and volcanoes, in stars and the void. Later thinkers, not satisfied with a simple sense of identity, conceived of another within their minds to explain first cause of their intuition, just as the Hebrews conceived of a Another apart from the universe. These thinkers, such as Aristotle, intuited a First Mover to further explain the Becoming; they shuddered at the thought of efficient causes being the wherewithal without a first cause and more importantly a final cause. There is little comfort in a world that has no beginning nor ending in an epiphany of splendor.

Copyright © 2005 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: January 19, 2005.

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