Exercises — Week 5: Modern Philosophy — Descartes and Locke
3 hands-on tasks. Do them in order; each one feeds the Canvas item it names.
15 min · reading
1. Three waves of doubt
- List Descartes' three doubts in Meditation I in order.
- Under each, write what kind of belief it knocks out (beliefs from the senses? about the external world? about math?).
- Write one sentence on why the demon is worse than the dream.
Turn in / bring: The list — the Week 5 quiz asks about the order and the target of each doubt.
10 min · practice
2. Primary or secondary?
- Take an apple, a phone, and a song. For each, list three qualities.
- Label each quality P (primary — in the thing) or S (secondary — a power to cause a sensation in you).
- Explain why Locke thinks the color of the apple is not 'in' the apple the way its shape is.
Turn in / bring: Nine labeled qualities with a two-sentence explanation.
40 min · writing
3. Major Essay 2 build
- Confirm the prompt in Canvas. Most Week 5 prompts ask you to compare Descartes and Locke on where knowledge comes from.
- Thesis: which side is more convincing, and on what single point.
- Paragraph on Descartes: the method of doubt and the cogito, with Meditation references.
- Paragraph on Locke: blank slate, sensation and reflection, with Book and chapter references.
- Paragraph where they meet: what each would say about one everyday example (learning a language, knowing 2+2=4, seeing a color).
- Objection and reply; conclusion; fallacy check; rubric check; upload the file.
Turn in / bring: Major Essay 2 in Canvas before the window closes. No late work.