American Military University Rational Skepticism Essay

• CO2: Examine the relevance of language and logic to problems of knowledge and reality.
• CO5: Evaluate various approaches to the mind-body problem
• CO6: Evaluate various approaches to the problem of free will.

Again, please do not start a new thread. Please post to the threads I have started below for the option of choice.

Please pick one of the following questions to answer for the forum this week: 

• Option 1: Why doesn’t Descartes simply determine what’s real by looking around him and using his sense experience?  What is the reason he felt he needed to adopt radical skepticism, and do you feel he is successful? Be sure to use passages from the Meditations or his Discourse on Method to support your assertions.
• Option 2: In Meditation II, Descartes states, “I am; I exist – this is certain.” Explain why Descartes claims that his knowledge about this cannot be doubted? Can you think of a refutation, or does it make good sense?  Why does he have to prove we have immaterial minds? Keep in mind he also concludes that anything he “clearly and distinctly perceives” is something he cannot doubt (See last paragraphs of Meditation VI).
• Option 3:  In Meditation V, Descartes proffers an ontological argument for God’s existence. Assess that argument and determine if you find it convincing. Then discuss if this argument is enough for him to claim in the last paragraph of Meditation VI, “For from the fact that God is not a deceiver it follows that in cases like these I am completely free from error.” Also, discuss just what “cases” he means.