Syllabus for “Descartes:
Sensible Doubts and Legitimate Knowledge?”
Spring 2018
A Seven Week
Course Week of March 12—Week of April 23
Midcoast Senior
College, 10 Tibbetts Dr, Brunswick, ME
Bruce Hauptli
Descartes wishes to place human
knowledge on the most firm of foundations so that the "new modern age" could be certain
of its understanding of the world.
To do so he tries to give skeptical doubts their maximal sway.
In doing so, he believes, he can uncover both the most secure form of
knowledge, and the method for building the new "scientific understanding" upon this
foundation. His project has a
lasting influence upon our culture, and in this course we will study his
Meditations on First Philosophy
[1641]. We will address the
following questions:
“Why does he start out in skepticism?”
“Do his doubts ultimately make sense?”
“What is his first claim to knowledge, is it as secure as
he claims, and what problems does it initiate?”
“What method does he employ to gain further knowledge,
does it really produce the desired understanding, and how is it related to
science (then and now)?”
“How successful are his proofs for the existence of a
deity?”
“Can he move from knowledge of the self to knowledge of
others, and then to knowledge of the physical world?”
Text: René
Descartes, Discourse on Method [1637] and
Meditations on First Philosophy
[1641]
(Fourth Edition), Trans: Donald A. Cress (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998)—ISBN
(paper): 978-0-87220-420-1.
Course Description:
Descartes’
Meditations is so accessible that it
requires no prior study of philosophy, yet it provides the reader with an
outstanding picture of this activity and its importance.
It also provides an excellent picture of one view of liberal education at
that time in our culture. The
material is so rich that even the most serious scholars have critically
discussed them for more than three-and-three-quarter centuries, and our
discussions will devote time to many of these criticisms.
In addition to providing the opportunity for interested individuals to
learn about Descartes and his philosophy, students will learn much about the
philosophical activity in general, and the class discussions will show students
what it is like to
engage in this activity.
Anticipated Course
Schedule:
March 12--Week 1: Introduction to Philosophy,
to Descartes, and to his age.
Supplementary materials and readings (may be read before and/or after the
class):
My
“Introduction to Descartes.”
Assignment
for next session: read the “First” and “Second Meditations.”
March 19--Week 2: Discussion of the “First” and
“Second Meditations.”
Supplementary materials and readings (may be read before and/or after the
class):
My
Supplements on the “First” and
“Second Meditation.”
Assignment
for next session: read the “Third Meditation.”
March 26--Week 3: Discussion of the “Third
Meditation.”
Supplementary materials and readings (may be read before and/or after the
class):
My supplement to the “Third Meditation.”
Also see my supplement "A Brief Note on Descartes, Eternal Truths, and Rationality."
Assignment
for next session: read the "Fourth Meditation."
April 2--Week 4: Discussion of the “Third” and
“Fourth Meditations.
Supplementary materials and readings (may be read before and/or after the
class):
My supplements to the “Third” and “Fourth Meditation”
Assignment
for next session: read the "Fifth Meditation.”
April 9--Week 5: Discussion of the “Fifth
Meditation.”
Supplementary materials and readings (may be read before and/or after the
class):
My supplement to the “Fifth Meditation”
Assignment
for next session: read the “Sixth Meditation.
April 16--Week 6: Discussion of the “Fifth" and
"Sixth Meditations.”
Supplementary materials and readings (may be read before and/or after the
class):
My supplement to the “Sixth Meditation”
April 23--Week 7: Conclusion and Assessment.
Supplementary materials and readings (may be read before and/or after the
class):
My supplement to the “Sixth Meditation”
My Concluding Lecture Supplement.
Midcoast Senior College Website
Email: hauptli@fiu.edu
Last revised: 04/25/18.