Philosophy 5: Critical Thinking and Composition  

Pierce College

Department of History, Philosophy, & Sociology

Group Exercise for Nye Reading  

(Notes on the importance of group exercises.) 

Group Work Summary: Each group explains how one of the following passages can be straightforwardly applied to one of Descartes' points or arguments.

A) "I think that [Neil deGrasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins are] just concerned that [philosophy] doesn’t always give an answer that’s surprising. It doesn’t always lead you someplace that is inconsistent with common sense." 

B) "But the idea that reality is not real or what you sense and feel is not authentic is something I’m very skeptical of. I mean I think that your senses, the reality that you interact with light, heat, sense of touch, taste, smell, hearing, absolutely hearing. These are real things."

C) "And to make a philosophical argument that [your senses] may not be real because you can’t prove — like, for example, you can’t prove that the sun will come up tomorrow. Not really, right. You can’t prove it until it happens. But I’m pretty confident it will happen. That’s part of my reality. The sun will come up tomorrow."

D) "And so philosophy is important for a while, but it’s also — I get were Neil and Richard might be coming from, where you start arguing in a circle where I think therefore I am. What if you don’t think about it? Do you not exist anymore? You probably still exist even if you’re not thinking about existence."

E) "And so, you know, this gets into the old thing if you drop a hammer on your foot, is it real or is it just your imagination? You can run that test, you know, a couple of times and I hope you come to agree that it’s probably real. It’s a cool question." 

Step 1 (ten or so minutes): Individually, and before getting into your groups, read your group's Nye quotation.  Jot down some notes about your group's Nye quotation as needed.  How do parts of the Nye quote relate to parts of the Descartes reading? 

A) "I think that [Neil deGrasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins are] just concerned that [philosophy] doesn’t always give an answer that’s surprising. It doesn’t always lead you someplace that is inconsistent with common sense." 

B) "But the idea that reality is not real or what you sense and feel is not authentic is something I’m very skeptical of. I mean I think that your senses, the reality that you interact with light, heat, sense of touch, taste, smell, hearing, absolutely hearing. These are real things."

C) "And to make a philosophical argument that [your senses] may not be real because you can’t prove — like, for example, you can’t prove that the sun will come up tomorrow. Not really, right. You can’t prove it until it happens. But I’m pretty confident it will happen. That’s part of my reality. The sun will come up tomorrow."

D) "And so philosophy is important for a while, but it’s also — I get were Neil and Richard might be coming from, where you start arguing in a circle where I think therefore I am. What if you don’t think about it? Do you not exist anymore? You probably still exist even if you’re not thinking about existence."

E) "And so, you know, this gets into the old thing if you drop a hammer on your foot, is it real or is it just your imagination? You can run that test, you know, a couple of times and I hope you come to agree that it’s probably real. It’s a cool question." 

Step 2 (ten or so minutes):  In groups, discuss thoughts on how your group's Nye quote can be straightforwardly applied to one of Descartes' points or arguments.  Try to formulate part of your group's Nye quote into an argument that could be made against Descartes. 

Step 3 (one minute): In the same groups, put today's date, your group member's names, and "Nye Quotes Group Exercise" on a sheet of paper.  Write a sentence or two explaining how your group's quote can be straightforwardly applied to one of Descartes' points or arguments.  

If you find yourself done early, as a group, come up with a question or two (e.g., one question about the reading for this essay, and one about the essay itself) for me to answer in front of the whole class.