2020-10-25

phil-1101

• Guiding questions for Rene Descartes meditations
  • At the beginning of Meditation I, Rene Descartes’ meditator says that they are going to rid themselves of all the opinions which they had formerly accepted."
    • Why on earth would anybody want to do that?
    • What strategy does the meditator say they are going to use, in performing this task?
    • To rid themself of all these opinions, do they think they need to show they are false or something weaker than that?
    • Do they think they need to take up each belief individually or is there a way to process hoards of them at a time?
      • Rene Descartes foundationalism --> view that knowledge has a building-like structure
      • No, destroy the foundations and all that is built upon it will crumble down
  • The first doubt the meditator brings forward concerns the testimony of their senses
    • What are the premises of the argument?
    • What is its conclusion?
    • If the premises were true, would the conclusion have to be true too?
  • The second doubt the meditator brings forward begins with the fact that they sometimes dream
    • What beliefs do they think are called into doubt by this argument?
    • Which beliefs do they suggest are left untouched by the dream argument?
    • Why do they conjecture that the dream argument leaves them unscathed?
    • What names do they give to the things these beliefs are about?
    • Which disciplines investigate these things?
  • The third doubt the meditator brings forward begins with their belief in God
    • What additional beliefs does Rene Descartes mean to call into doubt by this argument and how?
    • What objection does he consider and how does he reply to it?
  • The fourth doubt the meditator brings forward starts with the possibility that God does not exist
    • What further beliefs does the meditator mean to call into doubt by this argument and how?
  • What is the purpose of the last paragraph of Meditation I when the meditator says they shall suppose God is some evil genius?
  • At the beginning of Meditation II, the meditator attempts to establish some belief to be certain and indubitable (beyond any possible doubt)
    • What key conclusions does the meditator think they can be certain of?
    • Do you agree?
    • Are you able to establish these same conclusions with absolute certainty?
  • What is the point of the meditator's wax example?
    • All properties observed with the senses can change
      • Some of the properties can't be discovered through the senses
    • How might this example relate to Rene Descartes' rejection of Aristotelean empiricism?