Montaigne Activity
Montaigne
Unit 3: Activity
Skpticism about the senses
This is going to be two page essay about "Skepticsm and the
senses."
Write a brief introductory account of the nature of skeptical
reasoning. (Skeptical reasoning is the general strategy and process of
reasoning by which skeptics seek to show that knowledge is not possible.
Your job is to describe the strategy and the process which leads to
suspension of judgement.) Give a brief account of the different subjects
which make Renaissance skepticism unique.
You are going to focus on Montaigne's attack on knowledge derived from
the senses. Montaige makes a serious effort to undermine claims that we
get any knowledge from the senses. Explain the argument. Try to make it
clear how the argument fits the general strategy of skeptical reasoning.
You may want to summarize or reconstruct the argument. You might also
want to consider a particular example or two. So you might talk about the
role that dreaming plays in his skeptcism in regard to the senses. Or
health and sickness. Provide a brief evaluation of how effective you take
Montaigne's argument to be. This entire essay should be about two pages
in length.
Due date