Lecture (LEC)

• Above class open to graduates only

Topic: Descartes and his critics

The publication of Descartes's Meditations was perhaps the major philosophical event of the seventeenth century. Descartes's ambition is to construct an unshakable foundation of belief, one which can withstand the assaults of even the most extreme skeptical arguments. He also aims to establish the existence of a perfect, non-deceiving God and the real distinction of mind and body. This course is an intensive investigation into the Meditations and its historical and recent reception. We will begin with a close reading of the Meditations and other works by Descartes. We will then consider how Cartesian views and themes are taken up by authors including Arnauld, Hume, Spinoza, Kim, and Stroud. Topics considered will include skepticism, certainty, the nature of the mind and its relation to the body, the metaphysics of substance, and the creation of the eternal truths.