Active learning ideas
Descartes' Method of Doubt is a pivotal moment in the Year 12 curriculum, where students follow the 'father of modern philosophy' in his quest for certainty. The topic covers the three waves of doubt: the argument from unreliable senses, the dreaming argument, and the evil demon hypothesis. Students must understand how each wave is more 'radical' than the last, eventually stripping away all beliefs.
Activity 01
Groups are assigned one of the three waves. They must create a 'filter' that shows what types of knowledge that wave 'traps' (e.g., the dreaming argument traps all sensory knowledge but leaves maths intact).
What are Descartes' three waves of doubt?
Activity 02
One student plays Descartes, defending the Cogito. Another plays the Evil Demon, trying to show that even 'I think' could be a deception. The rest of the class acts as the jury to decide if the Cogito is truly certain.
Is the 'cogito' immune to the evil demon hypothesis?
Activity 03
Students discuss whether 'I think, therefore I am' is a logical argument with a missing premise or a single 'flash' of intuition. They share their reasoning with another pair.
Does Descartes successfully defeat global scepticism?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Students often think Descartes actually believed there was an Evil Demon.
The demon is a 'thought experiment' or a 'methodological' tool. Active learning simulations help students see that Descartes uses the demon as a way to test his beliefs to the absolute limit, not as a literal claim about reality.
Students think the Cogito proves that Descartes has a body.
At the point of the Cogito, Descartes has only proven he is a 'thinking thing'. Peer-led mapping of the Meditations helps students see that the body and the world are only 're-proven' much later in his work.
Methods used in this brief
Philosophical Scepticism
An introduction to local and global scepticism. Students will differentiate between ordinary doubt and philosophical doubt.
8 methodologies
Empiricist Responses to Scepticism
An examination of how empiricists like Locke, Berkeley, and Russell respond to sceptical challenges. Students will assess the reliability of sense data.
8 methodologies