Question

Read the argument from Part IV of Discourse on Method and answer the question.

It remained, then, to conclude that it was put into me by a nature truly more perfect than was I, and possessing in itself all the perfections of what I could form an idea--in a word, by God. To which I added that, since I knew some perfections which I did not possess, I was not the only being who existed, but that there must of necessity be some other being, more perfect, on whom I depended, and from whom I had acquired all that I possessed; for if I had existed alone and independent of all other, so that I had of myself all this little whereby I participated in the Perfect Being, I should have been able to have in myself all those other qualities which I knew myself to lack, and so to be infinite, eternal, immutable, omniscient, almighty--in fine, to possess all the perfections which I could observe in God.

According to this excerpt, Descartes' belief in the Divine is represented through _____.

his satirical tone
his critical tone
his somber tone
his modest tone

Answer 1

Rene Descartes was a French mathematician wherein he was coined to be the "Father of Modern Philosophy." He was famously credited to the line "I think, therefore I am" in which he was the leading figure in the development of mechanistic sciences. In addition, the excerpt most likely conveys the Descartes used a modest tone.

Answer 2

Answer: D) Modest tone.

Explanation: The tone of a text or sentence is the author's or speaker's attitude towards the audience, the subject or even the characters of the text. There are many different kinds of tones, like: positive, negative, objective, sad, angry, etc. In the given excerpt from Part IV of Discourse on Method, we can see that Descartes uses a modest tone to explain his beliefs, we can see that in the way he describes himself as imperfect and lacking of qualities.