Philosophy homework help. ESSAY III: On Mind and Body?
Write an essay of about 1000 to 1250 words, or 4 to 5 pages (double-spaced), in response
to the prompt below. Your Essay III is due on Monday, March 16, 2020, 12:00 noon.
Your TA will instruct you on how to turn in your essay (in electronic or hard copy).
Your Essay III is in effect your final exam (there is no separate Final Exam in our course).
Again, this essay is worth approximately 40% of your final course grade (allowing for
improvement and Discussion participation in your final grade).
As you develop your essay, write in your own voice, present ideas as clearly and simply as
you can, and let the course discussion, in Lecture and your Discussion Section, guide your
writing, treating your Essay III as a kind of reflection on the themes of the course.
Reflecting on Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, address the following three
themes, constructing an essay that addresses Descartes in the context of our course.
First: Explain Descartes’ “malicious demon” argument. What is the aim of the argument?
Address Descartes’ own prose in his First and Second Meditations. (Do not rely on outside
sources; simply read Descartes’ own formulations and summarize in your words.)
Second: Explain Descartes’ doctrine of the distinction between mind and body, now called
Cartesian dualism. How does this dualism fit with our scientific world view?
Address Descartes’ presentation in his Sixth Meditation. (Again, do not rely on outside
sources; simply read Descartes’ own formulations and discuss in your own words.)
Third: Consider the nature of time as we’ve encountered this phenomenon in your prior
essays. Does the distinction between A-series time and B-series time, or between personal
and objective time, pose a problem for Cartesian dualism? Does Descartes’ doctrine find a
“puzzle” or even a “paradox” about the nature of mind/body — perhaps regarding time?
(Again, do not rely on outside sources; simply explain, briefly, how you think the puzzles
of time play in our reading of Descartes’ Meditations.)
One more time: Keep your discussion succinct and as clear and simple as you can. This is a
brief essay in which you reflect on the above problems.

Philosophy homework help