Descartes – Philosophy Questions

Descartes – Philosophy Questions

• 1) In general, what are the problems that Descartes sees with the sciences and knowledge of his culture?

• 2) In section 2, Descartes says that his goal was never more than to reform his own thoughts, and that he disapproves of what he calls trouble-making persons, i.e. reformers.
  • Please explain why Descartes says that, in light of the analogy between the house and knowledge.
  • In light of Part 6, do you think Descartes says true to his word?
• 3) What are the four steps of the method Descartes lays out?
• 4) What are the four rules for life that Descartes gives himself while he is developing his method? Why does he need those rules?(I.e. what purpose do they serve?)
• 5) What role does his doubt serve, in relation to both his overall goal and his method? What does Descartes think is absolutely indubitable?
• 6) “. . . if there were such machines having the organs and the shape of a monkey or of some other animal that lacked reason, we would have no way of recognizing that they were not entirely of the same nature as those animals; . . .” (Descartes, Discourse on Method, p. 31).
  • What is Descartes saying about animals? What is his point about nature in general?
  • What implications follow from that claim about living bodies, particularly when it comes to the human body?

• 7) What does Descartes give as the reasons as to why he ultimately decided to publish when he did? Why did he publish in French?