Instructions

Due, as an attachment, via the “Assignments” tool on Canvas, by 11:55pm on Tuesday, February 6.

Please choose one of these 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.