Philosophy class #4, Thursday, 2-4pm

[brambless.livejournal.com]

If you'll cast your mind back a few weeks, you might remember Rene Descartes - at least, I hope you remember Rene Descartes - who challenged the notion that you could actually receive any knowledge through your senses.

Today we're going to be discussing David Hume, who took that notion and ran in a different direction with it. Hume drew a distinction between impressions and ideas. An impression is something that you have direct sensory knowledge of, at this moment. The floor under your feet, the sound of my voice - these are impressions. Once you are no longer directly experiencing them, however, they become ideas, imperfect memories of an actual experience, extrapolations and linkages which are, ultimately, based on speculation.

This moment, therefore, is the only moment you can be sure of. And that's your discussion topic for today. If the now is the only thing you can truly know, what does that imply about the world?

To give you an example to start with: if I let go of this pencil, what will happen? How do you know?

Comments

First Assignment

[brambless.livejournal.com]

I've got an out of class assignment for you this week, and I'll want you to hand me in a written report next class.

Your task is to have one conversation this week that exists purely in the now. Make no references or assumptions to anything other than that precise moment. What can you communicate in that way? How does it change your processing of the world?

Have fun!

[dorky-broots.livejournal.com]

"The pencil will fall. I know this because I have seen other things fall before."

[brambless.livejournal.com]

"You remember things falling before. You have the idea of gravity. But if this is the only moment, if you were the output of an advanced computer, programmed with all your memories... can you really know what will happen to the pencil?"