Will, Doubt, Modality

Descartes' unquestioning acceptance of logical principles, in combination with his methodological emphasis on 'can' doubt and on certainty, suggests that his deity is a modalized version of the Logos. For example, the various objects of doubt are Possible, the ongoing 'I think' event is Actual, and the hypostasized 'I am a thinking being', of which he is certain, is Necessary. These classifications are derived from the previously discussed modality of Volition, in which Will opens up indefinite possibilities of Motility, one of which determinate structure actualizes, and the settled past, as immutable, is a necessary precondition of all that ensues. One implication of this analysis is that the 'God' that Descartes proves to be the cause of his existence is Necessary only insofar as it is part of his immutable past, i. e. he proves only that that God must have once existed, not that it exists eternally. This implication conforms to one involving the more conventional concept of Necessity, i. e. Descartes does not show that this 'God' exists at a world where no thinking transpires.