 It is tempting to assume that the Evil Genius Doubt draws its sceptical force from the “utmost power” attributed to the deceiver. Clear texts suggest a different reading. Descartes contends that an equally powerful doubt derives from the supposition that we are not the creatures of an all-powerful creator. Recall that the above reductio reasoning implies simply that the creator cannot be both all-powerful and all-good. Suppose, then, that we give-up the assumption that the creator is all-powerful. The passage continues: