Study Questions for Descartes, Meditations, One
and Two
Meditation One
- What
task does Descartes set for himself at the beginning of this meditation?
- How
does he propose to accomplish his task? (Bottom of p.59 to top of 60)
- What
is the first reason he finds to doubt the evidence of his senses?
- Why
does he think that this reason is not enough to undermine all his
sense-based beliefs?
- 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?]
- 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?]
- What
hypothesis then leads him to doubt even these remaining beliefs? (Bottom
of p.61)
- 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)
- 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
- 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?
- 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?
- What
did Descartes used to think he was before he set out on these meditations?
(Bottom half of p.64 to top of 65)
- What
do his current meditations lead him to conclude about himself? (P.65-66)
- 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?
- Why
can he not know it through his imagination?
- With
what faculty (or power) of his mind does he know it?