Assignment Papers-What do you think about the idea of certainty?  Do you think humans can achieve any kind of absolutely certain knowledge?  Why or why not? 

Assignment Papers-What do you think about the idea of certainty?  Do you think humans can achieve any kind of absolutely certain knowledge?  Why or why not?

Read Descartes’ first two “Meditations” (they are in the files section—Meditation I and Meditation II)

Descartes is attempting to find some truth that is certain and cannot be doubted.  He begins to go through all that he has believed and ask whether there is any logical possibility that he could be wrong about this or that belief.

He is using the method of doubt.  Eventually, he does discover a belief that he thinks cannot be doubted (cogito ergo sum or since thinking is going on I must exist as a thinking thing).  Go through his reasoning process and outline how he arrives at this conclusion. 

Look at his example of the wax and describe why he thinks we can only know the wax by thinking and not by the senses. 

What do you think about the idea of certainty?  Do you think humans can achieve any kind of absolutely certain knowledge?  Why or why not?