What standard does Descartes think must be met before we can claim to know something

1. What standard does Descartes think must be met before we can claim to know something? Do you think this standard is reasonable? Why or why not?
2. Outline the “dream argument” and the “evil demon” argument for doubting the veracity of our sensory experience. Do you find these arguments convincing or do you think there is an adequate reply to them? Explain.
3. Is Descartes convinced of his own existence? Are you convinced of your existence? What argument does Descartes offer? Is it a good argument? Does this “cogito” argument also lend support to mind-body dualism? Why or why not?
4. Is the mind more certainly known than the body? What does Descartes say? Do you agree? Why or why not?
5. Descartes provides arguments for the existence of God in Meditations 3 and 5. What are these arguments and do you think they are good ones? Explain. Why does Descartes consider it important to prove the existence of God?
6. Descartes argues that the mind is distinct from the body in two ways, both of which draw on the principle that identical things must share all the same properties (a principle that later became known as “Leibniz’s Law” because of its importance in Leibniz’s philosophy). What are Descartes’ arguments? Can you think of any objections to them? Do you think Cartesian mind-body dualism has implications for life after death? Why or why not?