Evil demon
CONCEPT IN CARTESIAN PHILOSOPHY
Evil Daemon; Evil genious; Deus deceptor; Descartes demon; Demonic deceiver; Dieu-trompeur; Dieu trompeur; Descartes's demon; Cartesian demon; Evil dæmon; Evil daemon; Malin génie; Evil Demon; Malicious demon
The evil demon, also known as Descartes' demon, malicious demon and evil genius, is an epistemological concept that features prominently in Cartesian philosophy. In the first of his 1641 Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes imagines that an evil demon, of "utmost power and cunning has employed all his energies in order to deceive me.