How does the approach of Descartes to knowledge, summed up in “I think, therefore I am,” represent a departure from previous thinking, such as that of Aristotle? If Descartes rejects the data provided by the senses, what is he thinking about—that is, where does the raw material of thought come from? How can he know that God exists? Some modern critics have seen in Descartes’ method a
tendency to imprison the thinker within his or her own mind, cut off from the real world and from other people. Do you agree?
What will be an ideal response?
Ans: This is admittedly a tough question and you might want to make it optional or assign it to students who are also studying philosophy. The chapter does not refer to Descartes’ positing of innate ideas. However, the radical departure in thought represented by Cartesianism should be clear to the students. Aristotle and Aquinas said there was nothing in the mind that did not come through the senses—no images, no concepts—and that the existence of God could not be known except through natural causality. The contrast with Descartes’ view could not be greater.
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John Dickinson's letters in the guise of a Pennsylvania farmer were written in response to the:
A) Townshend Duties. B) Sugar Act. C) Intolerable Acts. D) Tea Act.
In “The Conservation of Races,” who articulated the idea that black Americans faced a “dilemma” as a result of their “double-consciousness” of being both Negroes and Americans at the same time?
a. W. E. B. Du Bois b. Lugenia Burns Hope c. Monroe Trotter d. Mary Church Terrell
When the delegates to the Second Continental Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence, they
A. established a stable government for the new nation. B. risked their lives by committing treason. C. demonstrated complete confidence that America would achieve victory against Great Britain. D. continued to express a desire for reconciliation with England.
Between 1800 and 1860, was slavery in the American South becoming stronger or weaker? Explain.
What will be an ideal response?