Philosophy clean sweep of his beliefs and begins again
1. In the Meditations, Descartes makes a clean sweep of his beliefs and begins again. Explain Descartes’ critical application of his method of doubt and the way he builds knowledge on a new foundation. Can Descartes’ rationalist account of knowledge of external objects withstand the criticisms of Locke’s empiricism? In the end, which epistemological account is more plausible, Descartes’ rationalism or Locke’s empiricist account? Explain.
2. In your own words, concisely state the problem of induction as formulated in our course readings by either David Hume or Bertrand Russell. Explain why it is especially problematic for empiricist accounts of knowledge. Should it be considered a serious problem? Explain why or why not.