Instructions
Due, as an attachment, via the “Assignments” tool on eCommons, by midnight
Tuesday, February 3.
Please choose one of the following arguments from Descartes’s First or Second
Meditations and, in approximately 2–3 pages (double spaced), do the following:
(1) briefly explain in your own words what the argument is supposed to prove and
how (focus only on the argument you have chosen; you should not summarize
the rest of the text); (2) bring up an apparently serious objection to the
argument; (3) explain how Descartes would respond to the objection.
(Needless to say this should be your own original work.[1]If you have
any questions about policies on plagiarism and related issues, please see
http://www.ue.ucsc.edu/academic_integrity.)
Note that this is not a full scale paper — you need not, and should not, write
an introduction and conclusion, summarize other parts of the Meditations, etc.
Just please focus on doing (1)–(3) above.
Also note: to do this well you need to come up with an objection that is
serious and think of a good way for Descartes to respond to it. The worse you can
make things look for Descartes — as long as you can still get him out of it in the
end! — the better your paper.
Objections based on modern technology (or imaginary future technology) are
discouraged. If you think of such an objection, see if you can come up with a
similar one that involves only things Descartes himself knew about or imagined.
(In most cases that should be possible. For example, you could use a powerful evil
demon.)
Please write the number of the argument you have chosen at the beginning of
your paper (you don’t need to quote it).
You can find answers to some commonly asked questions about my
assignments and grading in my FAQ.