172-189 of Jones' chapter on Descartes. Do Worksheet on Meditation 6. Today we will go over Descartes' metaphysics regarding the structure of the physical world and the relationship between the mental and the physical. For Fri., Feb. 16 We will continue talking about Descartes' conception of the mind and body, and of their interaction. We will review all of our work on Descartes, considering residual questions and difficulties.
Papers are due at the beginning of class.
I will introduce the next section of the course by lecturing on Leibniz's views on creation. We will not be spending time on Leibniz, but you should at least be familiar with the basics of his views. In these pages Spinoza outlines his motivation in pursuing philosophy. Notice the differences between his motives and those of Descartes. As we are studying Spinoza, I urge you to make use of a summary that I have put on reserve in Olin.