USA: +1 508 290 1604 
Sign in
QUESTION
Reading attached. Textbook: Lammey, Melissa. Introduction to Philosophy: PHI 2010, 1st edition ISBN: 978-1-58152-956-2, XanEdu.
W3: Textbook Assignment
(425 words)
From the chapter, The Rise of Modern Metaphysics and Epistemology, read about the scientific revolution and Descartes on pp. 54-62. Answer the following:
1. What is “the scientific revolution”?
2. Define the following terms: dualism, materialism, idealism, and double aspect theory.
3. Why does Descartes employ skepticism?
4. What two conjectures does Descartes use in his doubting methodology? Explain each of these.
5. What claim does Descartes come to see as an indubitable truth? How can he be sure that this claim cannot be doubted?
W3: Reflection Log
(125 words)
For this reflection log, if you have not seen the movie, The Matrix, watch it now. It is possible to find it for free online with a Google search. I was able to view it here:
https://www3.123movies.la/
ANSWER
TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENT
The scientific revolution refers to the drastic changes in the thought process that occurred during the 16th and the 17th centuries, where a new view of nature emerged and replaced the earlier Greek view of nature. It is the term that is used to refer to the period during which numerous improvements and changes in the political, mathematical, and scientific thought, based on new faith in progress and a new philosophy of empiricism, took place (Moore and Bruder 2005). Dualism is the philosophy that states that two types of reality exist: immaterial reality and material reality. Duality proposes that a physical world exists, as well as the spiritual world. The philosophy also proposes that there is a dualism in each individual – the dualism of body and mind.
Materialism is the view or opinion that only matter, or the physical world, is real. By applying this view, thoughts and other non-matter things are looked at as simply movements of matter or chemical reactions since there is no reality past the physical. Idealism is the view that the ideal world is the only reality. The double-aspect theory, which is also known as the dual-aspect monism, is the view that the physical and the mental are two perspectives or aspects of the same thing. Descartes employs skepticism since he did not think that all the information that we receive via our senses is true or accurate (Moore and Bruder 2005). He even questions that existence of the world and his senses – “…if my senses can convey to me the heat of fire when I do not really feel it, then I cannot trust that the fire exists when I feel it (Baker and Morris 2005).
Descartes’ skepticism and doubting used two conjectures: the dream conjecture – “For all I know, I might now be dreaming” (Moore and Bruder 2005); and the evil demon conjecture – “For all I know, some evil demon had devoted himself to deceiving me at every turn so that I regard its true/certain propositions that are in fact false” (Baker and Morris 2005). He proposed that these two conjectures combine to force an individual to understand that there is nothing that is believed to be true that cannot be doubted. The one thing that Descartes came to see as true is that he exists – “I am, I exist” (Detlefsen 2013). He concludes this after realizing that whenever the thought of his existence crosses his mind, it is true. This is the indubitable truth since is emerges as true even under the strict conditions imposed by the universal doubt. He can be sure that this truth cannot be doubted by weighing the claim using the universal doubt conditions.
REFLECTION LOG
In The Matrix movie, the reality that people perceive is a dream that has been created by a powerful being for deceiving humanity (Chalmers 132). People believe that they live in a big city and the year is 1999. In reality, however, it is the year 2199 and the world is in a very bad situation. Descartes talks of the dream and the reality, where he is convinced that he is sitting before a fire wearing a gown while in reality, he is undressed and in bed. In the movie, the people cannot separate a dream from reality, just as Descartes is not able to separate the dream from reality. Neo has doubts about reality while Descartes has doubts about being aware of whether he is in reality or a dream (160). If the life we live today is in the matrix, I would not want to know. Knowing would not have any effect on how I go about things or how I live my life. Whether we live in a matrix or not, life goes on in the same way.
Works Cited
Baker, Gordon, and Katherine Morris. Descartes’ dualism. Routledge, 2005.
Chalmers, David J. The Matrix as metaphysics. (pp. 132-176). na. 2005.
Detlefsen, Karen, ed. Descartes’ Meditations: a critical guide. Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Moore, Brooke Noel, and Kenneth Bruder. PHILOSOPHY: THE POWER OF IDEAS. London: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2005.
