PHL 708 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Dream Argument, Undressed, Mad Scientist
22 Sep 2016
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There are better and worse conditions for our senses to give us our perception of the world. Descartes raises an objection for his own argument in at 18 for perceptual fallibility. This concludes the first stage of doubt which was discussed back in lecture 3. If you wanted to alter p3 of the first stage of doubt, you could say, the senses are not always reliable except when perception of myself and my immediate environment is concerned. The conclusion is therefore withhold assent from all beliefs acquired from the senses or through the senses that do not concern myself or my immediate environment. An example of something we shouldn"t believe anymore according to descartes is that i"m sitting in philosophy class right now but i cannot prove that it"s sunny outside. I can see sunlight but there are blinds in the way.
