What are the strengths and weaknesses of Descartes’ Trademark Argument? StrengthsWeaknesses p , You have 3 minutes to read through the chart you made for homework.

Criticism 1: Is the Causal Principle true? Without using your notes, talk to the person next to you about how you would complete this piece of text: Descartes’ causal principle states that, __________________________________ ___________________________________________________________. However, when looking at the world there do seem to be all kinds of examples where it does seem possible to produce something with ______________________________ _________________________________________________________________. For example, _______________________________________________ _________________________________________________________. If these are genuine counter examples to Descartes’ causal principle then the trademark argument cannot rely on the principle and it may well be possible to produce the idea of __________ from pretty humble beginnings. Stretch and challenge: do you agree with this criticism? Why/why not?

Criticism 2: Do we really have an idea of an infinite being or of infinity? Can we really grasp such an idea? Even theistic philosophers, for example St __________ _____________ have expressed doubts about whether the human _________ can actually frame a positive idea of ______. So, it may be argued that Descartes is able to use the word ‘God’ without having a genuine corresponding _______ in his mind. If I try to conceive of infinity my mind fails me; the idea is really only a ____________ one, namely the opposite of ____________. If we don’t really have the idea of an ____________ being, then the issue of where the ________ comes from does not arise, and so the trademark argument doesn’t get off the ground. Stretch and challenge: do you agree with this criticism? Why/why not? Criticism 3: The idea of God is incoherent. One example of the way in which the idea of God may not be coherent is:

People from _________________________ do not have an idea of an ____________________ God. And if they do not have such an _________ then ___________________ is surely wrong to say that it is planted in our _________. Moreover, it has been argued that the origin of the idea of an omnipotent God is not divine since it has a historical genesis around 500BCE. How does Descartes respond to this criticism? According to Hume, how do we form the concept of God? Criticism 4: The idea of an all-powerful God is not universal Criticism 5: Empiricist accounts of the origin of our idea of God Stretch and challenge: do you agree with this criticism? Why/why not?

Any strengths to Descartes’ Trademark argument/rebuttals to criticisms?

Innate Concepts 2 Focus: to continue to consider whether some ideas are innate, thus collapsing the Tabula Rasa theory.

1) Are instincts innate? A baby knows how to suckle from its mother and cry when it’s hurt – this could be innate. But, most people say this is ‘know-how’ (an instinct to behave) and so it’s not knowledge of the world. So an empiricist can still say all our knowledge of the world must be derived from experience and that humans are born with certain instincts to behave in certain ways. Could we say though that all knowledge boils down to know-how? (knowing how to make accurate scientific predictions for example.)

2) Is our concept of physical substance innate? How do we come to have the concept of substance, of something that continues to exist as one and the same thing through time, that possesses properties but is not reducible to properties? Descartes’ example of the wax During the video make notes on how Descartes knows that the block of wax is the same before and after melting. Descartes’ conclusion: The concept of a physical object does not derive from sense experience, but is part of the understanding, i.e. it is innate.

3) Is our concept of numbers innate? Working in pairs… 1.Read pp Write down 5 simple, key points to explain why Plato thinks that our concept of numbers is innate. 3.How might an Empiricist respond to Plato? Write your answer in a full sentence. 4.How does Descartes respond to this Empiricist argument? Write your answer in two clear points.

4. Are our concepts of beauty and justice innate? On your own: read the relevant section on p.135 and make notes on why Plato thinks that our ideas of beauty and justice must be innate. In pairs: discuss your answers and make any necessary amendments/additions. Be ready to share your answer… Stretch: do you agree that these concepts are innate?

Homework (due next lesson): Write half a page explaining whether you think there are any innate ideas and why/why not. What would these be if so? Or, why do you reject any possible suggestions to what might be innate ideas. Page blue book to help