My aim in this article is to answer the question: is the Cartesian Theory of Ideas a direct realist or a representationalist theory? To answer this question, I analyze the notions of idea, objective being, objective reality and essence in Descartes’s "Meditations". I show that, from the point of view of the apprehension of the essences of external things, Descartes is a direct realist. However, since some proofs of the existence are inferential, I also show that, from this standpoint, the Cartesian theory is a representationalist theory.
Direct Realism; Representationalism; Idea; Objective Being; Objective Reality; Essence