Educational Philosophy Chapter 9 Homework You Might Show Clips From Any Television

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SOCCIO ARCHETYPES OF WISDOM

Last printed 3/14/2023 11:35:00 AM

CHAPTER 9

THE RATIONALIST: RENÉ DESCARTES

Chapter 9 Key Concepts

A combination of factors, including Luther s Protestant

Reformation and Copernicus s advances in scientific

understanding and technique, led to the erosion of the

René Descartes s scientific and mathematical interests

demanded observable, provable evidence of a nature lacking

in the cumbersome reliance on authority of Scholasticism and

Reliance on reason as the ultimate source of knowledge is

a form of rationalism. In general, rationalists believe that

abstract reasoning can produce absolutely certain truths about

Rationalists rely on the coherence theory of truth: New or

unclear ideas are evaluated in terms of rational or logical

consistency and in relation to already established truths.

Descartes replaced Scholastic authority with a rational

Descartes s interest in the thinking thing itself was the

SOCCIO ARCHETYPES OF WISDOM

Descartes recognized the need for orderly thinking, which

Methodic doubt is a form of skepticism that rejects any

idea that could possibly be false, no matter how remote that

Even an evil genius could not shake one fundamental

idea: I think, therefore I exist. This is known as the Cogito.

Having found an undoubtable truth, Descartes tried to

build a reliable foundation for knowledge by appealing to an

Having established the existence of God to his satisfaction,

Descartes believed that he had clearly and distinctly

Descartes rejected the materialists challenge to the

possibility of free will with Cartesian dualism, the belief that

SOCCIO ARCHETYPES OF WISDOM

One current critique of modern philosophy holds that,

with rare exceptions, Western philosophers have failed to

recognize that they have personal, social, gendered, and

Susan Bordo holds that what she calls the masculinizing

of philosophical thought reached a watershed at the

beginning of the modern period. Bordo asserts that Cartesian

Chapter 9 Teaching Tips

1. Point out relevant similarities between our era and

Descartes s in regard to how growth in scientific and

technological sophistication seems to be accompanied by

increased public confusion and distrust in experts. You might

cite persistent interest in pseudoscience, alternative medicine,

exotic (to us) religions, and divisiveness among the hundreds

of identified denominations of Christianity. How can any

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2. Discuss how Descartes s method avoids the fallacy of

false authority. The fallacy of false authority is the error in

reasoning that results when we accept the word of experts

speaking outside their fields, or when we uncritically rely on

the testimony of others without checking it against our own

experiences and reason. You might show clips from any

television show in which experts disagree with laypersons

3. The Philosophical Query on page 270 raises the important

issue of whether Descartes s demand for clarity and

distinctness satisfies its own criteria. Use it to raise the issue of

4. Spend some time distinguishing between plausible and

possible. (See the Philosophical Query on page 258.) When

5. Begin your discussion of Descartes s ontological argument

by asking the class to design the perfect vehicle. (How many

passengers is the perfect number of passengers? What is the

perfect transmission? Fuel?) It will soon become clear that

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6. Introduce the mind body problem by discussing such

contemporary issues as legal responsibility for acts committed

7. Ask a psychology teacher to discuss various forms of

behaviorism with your class, concentrating on the notion that

the mind is really the brain plus certain biochemical

reactions. How, for example, can a pill affect my mind? Does

the placebo effect refute dualism?

8. Here s an anecdote to use to underscore why it took so

long to make the epistemological turn: Years ago, a

Midwestern neighborhood made the news when citizens

began reporting strange scratches and pockmarks on the front

windshields of their cars. The phenomenon first came to light

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9. Carefully discuss common stereotypes regarding

feminine intuition and emotionalism and the idea that

men are more rational than women in terms of the

traditional model of knowing. Refer to the controversy

generated by the then-president of Harvard University

Lawrence Summers s 2005 claim that women may be

genetically less suited for science than men. This might be an

effective place to raise questions about rationality in general.

How rational is this culture, which is said to have been

shaped by such modern values as objectivity, rationality, and

universality?

10. In 2011, a nonphysician, nonscientist Republican

presidential primary candidate caused a stir by asserting that

certain childhood vaccines can cause autism. Many scientists

11. In relation to tip 10, stress the matter of nonexperts

choosing among disagreeing experts. Have the class create a