Study Questions for Descartes, Meditations, One and Two

 

Meditation One

 

  1. What task does Descartes set for himself at the beginning of this meditation?
  2. How does he propose to accomplish his task? (Bottom of p.59 to top of 60)
  3. What is the first reason he finds to doubt the evidence of his senses?
  4. Why does he think that this reason is not enough to undermine all his sense-based beliefs?
  5. What further reason does he then propose for doubting his opinions? (Bottom half of p.60)  [Note: here is where we may find an answer to one of the questions raised on Friday.  The question was: What is the point of bringing up dreams?  Can you see what role is played here by the possibility that we may be dreaming?]
  6. What sorts of beliefs survive even this reason for doubting them? (P.61) [Note: here is where we can find an answer to another question from Friday: Once Descartes has decided that his senses might deceive him, how can he know anything?  What other source of knowledge is there?]
  7. What hypothesis then leads him to doubt even these remaining beliefs? (Bottom of p.61)
  8. What other hypothesis does he then consider, which leads him to the same conclusion (i.e., the conclusion that “there is nothing among the things I once believed to be true which it is not permissible to doubt ... for valid and considered reasons.”)? (P.62, top half)
  9. For what purpose does Descartes suppose “an evil genius, supremely powerful and clever, who has directed his entire effort at deceiving me”? (P.62, bottom half)

 

Meditation Two

 

  1. Note how Descartes works his way towards his first indubitable conclusion: “I am, I exist.” (Bottom of p.63 to top of 64)  How do you think he would answer the question that was raised in class on Friday: Could “I think, therefore I am” be a dream?
  2. Another question raised on Friday: Why can’t he imagine he doesn’t exist? (That doesn’t seem so hard to imagine)  How do you think Descartes would answer this question if it came up at this point in his meditations?
  3. What did Descartes used to think he was before he set out on these meditations? (Bottom half of p.64 to top of 65)
  4. What do his current meditations lead him to conclude about himself?  (P.65-66)
  5. The passage about the wax is difficult.  Descartes is using this example to arrive at a very general and (to his mind) very important conclusion about how we can acquire true knowledge.  Why does Descartes think he cannot know the wax through perception?
  6. Why can he not know it through his imagination?
  7. With what faculty (or power) of his mind does he know it?