To Err and To Be Careful With the age old question discussing the existence of god Descartes begins the Fourth Meditation in clear defense of his existence. Descartes proves the existence of God through the mere fact that he, the author, has an idea within him of the existence of a higher power that this power must indeed exist. Of course, reading the previous mediataions the reader learns that this theory rests on the fact that the author has separated his thoughts from his senses: " And from the mere fact that there is such an idea within me....I clearly infer that God also exists." However Descartes shuns the typical philosophical