57 known as the “Cartesian Circle.” Although Descartes employs distinct and unambiguous concepts to support his claim that God exists, he also uses these same ideas to demonstrate God is real. This apparent circularity has drawn criticism from later philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant and David Hume, who challenged the coherence of Descartes’ system.49 Despite these criticisms, Descartes’ project continues to be a keystone of contemporary philosophy because it signifies the change from medieval to contemporary conceptions of knowledge, reason, and the place of God in intellectual pursuits. Descartes’ Contribution to Modern Atheism Even though René Descartes was a fervent theist, the philosophical ideas he popularized unintentionally helped to establish contemporary atheism. Modern atheism, according to Michael Buckley, emerged not just from rationalism but also from a growing individualism that separated reason from its communal, theological foundations, whereas Descartes advocated reason as a means of enhancing religious knowledge. Thinkers of the Enlightenment, such as Descartes, shifted away from conventional, and experienced faith, creating a philosophical culture in which religious teachings that were not immediately testable by reason were considered suspect. Descartes helped create a new intellectual climate where the role of theology became increasingly marginalized within intellectual discourse. This shift to rationalism contributed to the development of a more secular worldview, which eventually paved the way for the growth of atheism.50 Later philosophers followed to question religious beliefs and seek knowledge outside of the jurisdiction of the Church. Philosophers such as Voltaire posed a threat to the Church’s dogmas. Denis Diderot, in a similar vein, expanded on Descartes’ rationalist framework by advocating a materialistic and secular viewpoint and an outright rejection of religious ideas. Dualism and the Marginalization of the Soul Descartes’ dualism regarding human nature, which distinguishes between the immaterial mind (or soul) and the physical body, is another essential facet of his philosophy. He maintained that the body is a part of matter and the mind is a part of the domain of thinking. Following the division of mind and body, philosophers began to emphasize the material parts of life more and more, gradually pushing the soul to the periphery of philosophical debate. Descartes’ dualism was rejected by materialist thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes and Baruch Spinoza, who maintained that only the material world exists. Hobbes, for example, asserted that 50 Michael J. Buckley, At the Origins of Modern Atheism (London: Yale University, 1987), 75. 49 Gaukroger, Descartes: An Intellectual Biography, 245.
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