Descartes tells us that, in order to see what is real, we must first doubt all we know with our senses. Our senses can deceive us. Are we dreaming? Are we being manipulated by an evil genius? Are we living in The Matrix where we are waiting for Keanu Reaves to rescue us? (I suppose that would be the most disturbing option!)

In this case, we want to get at this notion of doubt. We will be reading from Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy.

It is recommended that students read the first six meditations of Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy. The FULL TEXT can be found here:https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/descartes/1639/meditations.htm

Descartes, R. (n.d.). Meditations On First Philosophy. Retrieved December 29, 2015, from http://selfpace.uconn.edu/class/percep/DescartesMeditations.pdf

Is Descartes’ argument against trusting the senses a good one? What appeals to you most, and what do you find odd?

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/descartes/1639/meditations.htm