Philosophy
4 Argument 8 1. It is always right to tell the truth. 2. Lying is never justifiable. Argument 9 1. Abortion is morally wrong only if it violates someone’s right to life. 2. Non – persons do not possess any right to life. 3. Human fetuses, although they ar
Project description
Option
3
: Answer a Question about Descartes’
Meditations
Instructions for Option
3
:
1.
Study the questions
on Descartes’
Meditations
that are listed below. Select one (and only one) of
those questions, think about it, and then write a short essay
(500
–
750
words)
in which you give your
answer to the question.
Your essay should show that you have read the
Mediations
very carefully and
thoughtfully.
Present your answer in an
argumentative
manner calculated to convince your readers
that they ought to agree with you.
Try your best to prove what you are claiming.
2.
At the beginning of your essay, quote exactly the question you are answering, including the question
number.
QUESTIONS
1.
What is the point of Descartes’ “demon hypothesis” in Meditation
I
? What is Descartes trying to
prove? Does he prove it? Explain.
2.
When Descartes makes his “If I am deceived, then I must exist” move at the beginning of Meditation
II
, does he actually prove his own existence? Can you think of any way in which his maneuv
er fails to
prove “the existence of the self”? Explain.
3.
Does Descartes convince you that there is a real (metaphysical) distinction between mind and body
and that the mind (true self) can exist without the body? (Meditation II, 286
–
7; Meditation VI). Ex
plain.
4.
Do you agree with Descartes’ contention that the mind is better known than the body? (Meditations II
and VI). Explain.
5.
In Meditation II, 287
–
8, What is Descartes trying to prove in his discussion of the piece of wax? Be
careful to take into ac
count the context in which the discussion arises and the context of Meditation II
itself. Carefully explain the argument and the conclusion that Descartes draws from it. How is the
argument relevant to Descartes epistemological project? How does the wax e
xample provide a basis
for Descartes’ conclusion that mind and body are really distinct from one another?
6.
Descartes claims (in the 3d Meditation) that our ideas of external objects do not require the actual
objective existence of such objects. Do you ag
ree with this? Explain.
7.
How (in general) does Descartes remove his doubts as to the existence and knowability of the
external world? Does he succeed in this effort? (Meditations III, V, and VI). Explain.
8.
What does Descartes mean by “God”? Do you agre
e with his view (definition) of the nature of God?
Explain
9.
Descartes claims that God cannot be a deceiver. Why does he hold this view? Do you agree with
him? Explain.
10.
If God is no deceiver, and if He has endowed us with the ability to avoid all intellectual error, then how
can it be explained that we are very often mistaken as to what is true and what is false? What about
errors caused by nature (e.g., when a person has
a disease that causes him to desire water when
water will do him harm) (see Meditation VI, 303
–
6)? Why does God not prevent such errors? How
does Descartes answer these questions? Are his answers adequate? See Meditation IV.
11.
In
Meditation
IV
, Descarte
s explains “how to avoid intellectual error.” What is his proposal? Would it
be good for us to always follow the policy Descartes proposes? (See
if you wish
William James,
“The Will to Believe,” in our text, 425
–
34). Explai
n.
12.
In Meditation
III
, Descartes asserts “the general rule that everything that I can clearly and distinctly
grasp is true.” What does he mean by this? What is a “clear and distinct idea”? Are you convinced
that his “general rule” is correct? Explain.
13.
In Meditation
III
, Descartes claims that the human mind could not, of or from itself, create the idea of
God. What does he mean? Do you agree? Explain.
14.
In Meditation I, on p. 284, Descartes claims that ”
there are no completely reliable signs by whic
h I can
distinguish clearly between dreaming and waking states . . . . ” However, in Mediation VI, on p. 306, he
states, “I should now reject as ridiculous the exaggerated doubts raised earlier in these meditations
,
especially the general uncertainty r
especting sleep, which I could not distinguish from the waking
state. I now find a very clear difference between the dream state and the waking state . . . . ” What
has happened between Mediation I and Meditation VI to change Descartes’ mind on this subjec
t?
Are
you convinced by what he says on this
matter
? Explain.
15.
Take any one of Descartes’ three arguments for the existence of God and subject it to a six
–
step
argument analysis and evaluation, employing the principles and methods covered in our unit on
Philosophy and Logic. It is not easy to do this job in 500 words or less, but it can be done. The three
arguments are in Meditation III, 288
–
92; Meditation III, 292
–
3; and Meditation V, 298
–
9.
16.
Descartes tries to remove all possible doubt as to the ex
istence of the external world by proving the
existence of God (a perfect being) and then emphasizing again and again that “God is no deceiver.”
Does the existence of God (as understood by Descartes) actually remove all such doubt? That is, is it
possible t
hat God exists but that, none the less, there is reasonable doubt as to the existence of the
external world? Explain.
17.
Suppose that Descartes’ attempts to prove the existence of God are all unsuccessful. Would that
mean necessarily that there is reasona
ble doubt as to the existence of the external world? Explain
Follow these instruction
Note:
The student learning objectives supported by this assignment and the assessment criteria by which
your paper is evaluated and graded are listed at the end of these assignment instructions (see below).
There are
f
our
options
for this essay assignment.
Cho
ose
only
one
. The options (set forth in detail below
)
are (1)
Explain the Truth or Falsity of a Proposition;
(2
) Explain the Validity or Inv
alidity of a Deductive
Argument; (3) Answer a Question about Descartes’
Meditation
s
;
or
(4)
Answer a question
about the
Campbell
–
Strawson Debate on Free Will
.
Instructions for all f
ive
options:
1.
Prepare your paper with an up
–
to
–
date and state
–
of
–
the
–
art word
–
processing program such as
Microsoft Word.
Do NOT use Microsoft Works, which does not function well wit
h online courses.
Set
your page size to 8.5 width and 11.0 length (8
0.5
” x 11″), and leave margins of
at
least
one
inch
on all
four sides of your pages. Your paper must be single
–
spaced, but double
–
space between paragraphs.
Use
either a Times New Roman
(size 12) or
an
Arial
(size 10 or 11) font
.
Insert page numbers as
footers bottom and center on your pages.
Do NOT use the space
–
bar for indenting or formatting; use
the tab and formatting systems in your word processor.
Save and submit your paper in
*.do
c or
*.docx format
.
In general, use standard word
–
processing methods in preparing your paper.
2.
Yo
ur essay must be 500
–
750
words in length (not counting the quotation of the question you are
answering or the statement
or argument you are evaluating).
3.
Proofread your paper for typing and spelling mistakes; they will be counted as errors if left
uncorrected.
4.
Type your name and the title of this course in the upper right
–
hand or upper left
–
hand corner of the
first page of your paper. Skip approximately four spaces between this heading and the title of your
paper.
5.
Give your paper a short, descriptive title, but do
not
prepare a separate title
–
page. Center the title,
underline or embolden it, and skip at least four spaces between the title and the first
paragraph of
your essay.
6.
Write entirely
or mostly in your own words.
Do not include any quotations from any sources other
than our required readings.
If you include quotations from our required readings, keep them brief and
give correct (MLA
–
style) citations for them.
Do not
otherwise use or refer to any so
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 🙂