Worthwhile tutorial at the weekend. The general census of opinion was that Descartes has dug himself a hole that just can't get out of.
Had he been trying to prove his existence he was probably about there with "I think, therefore I am", even if, as pointed out, this is a conclusion with only one premise, so the best he can really say is "I think".
But as a foundation for knowledge his 'Method of Doubt' and his extreme scepticism leaves him doubting too much and therefore no certainties.
Scepticism and knowledge interesting subjects to study, although some colleagues of mine were surprised and amused that I was learning about sceptisism and not actually teaching it - so I'm not sure that that says about me :-)
We also looked at Hume and inductive versus deductive knowledge and its value, and talked briefly about Popper and scientific knowledge.
So about a month to write TMA04, which we've now done all the reading for, and read up on Hume and Popper.
No comments:
Post a Comment