... so by concerning himself with the very definition of something can assess its irrefutability and so genuine existence. Decartes' theory on the existence of God is debated in his fifth meditation entitled 'Of the Essence of Material Things; and, Once More of God, that He Exists'. During this meditation several analogies are presented and some mathematical facts are used as proof between the minds ability to perceive and the irrefutable essence of things. I shall attempt to summarise concisely his key arguments and proofs. Decartes asks us to consider what we think of as being a triangle, what is the "certain determined nature or form or essence of this figure" (Decartes, Discourse On Method And The Meditations, p143). In doing so we reveal to ourselves what a triangle 'is', and how it can not depend on a persons mind or be something just invented by us. For example, the fact that its angles ...

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