- WEEK 9: The Structure of Knowledge
Required Readings
- René Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy, Second, Third, and Fourth Meditations (pp.3–22)
- Jim Pryor: Guidelines on Reading Philosophy
- Course Notes for Week 9
Discussion Questions
(Write out brief answers to this week's discussion questions and submit them via a direct message to me on Slack no later than 11:59pm on Sunday, October 24th. Your answers should be brief, no more than a few sentences each. Be prepared to discuss them in class.)
1. It might be tempting to think that our most fundamental beliefs—the beliefs on which all of our other beliefs rest—are the very first things that we saw, heard, tasted, and smelled after we were born. For example: we saw that there are many other things in the world, that our mothers smelled a certain way, and so on. Most epistemologists, including Descartes, would deny that these are our most fundamental pieces of knowledge. Why would Descartes disagree?
2. In Meditation 2, Descartes claims to have proven that there is a "real distinction between mind and body." What does he mean by this, and how does his proof work?
3. In Medidtation 3, Descartes gives arguments for the existence of God. What kind of God is he trying to prove the existence of? Why is it important to his overall plan in Meditations 2–4 that he prove the existence of God at this stage?
Zoom Meeting
This week's Zoom meeting will be on Monday, October 25th, 11:10AM–12:25PM. Here is the link to join.