Instructions
Due, as an attachment, via the “Assignments” tool on eCommons, by midnight
Tuesday, May 19.
Carefully state some apparently undeniable truth from common sense, physical
science, or mathematics (e.g., I have two hands; one body can cause another body
to move by pushing it; a line contains infinitely many points). Explain briefly why
Berkeley nevertheless appears to deny it. Finally, respond on Berkeley’s
behalf in the following two parts: (a) “I don’t deny the statement, if it is
understood correctly”; (b) “I do indeed deny the statement on another way of
understanding it, but, when you understand it that way, it is neither good
common sense nor good mathematics nor good physics, and in fact it is
absurd.”
All parts together should be 2–3 pages, double spaced. (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 — please do not write an introduction
and conclusion, summarize other, irrelevant parts of the text, etc. Just focus on
doing the above.
You can find answers to some commonly asked questions about my
assignments and grading in my FAQ.