osophy could achieve absolute certainty and could prove itself, as mathematics does, to my own reason, to human reason, and be acknowledged as universally true (Lavine 93).
Having elevated human reason, Descartes is faced with the fact that all reason takes place within his own mind. There is no connection with others, for such a connection could only take place through the senses. The one connection possible in the rational mind is with God, and Descartes demonstrates that God exists and that He does not deceive. This is necessary to show that the knowledge acquired by reason is true. Descartes offers a complete discussion of knowledge, its source, its object, and the rationale for his view of knowledge. Like Plato, he divides knowledge into what can be known and what cannot, and he emphasizes the importance of reason and the falsity of sensual per
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